W A G E R
by vivianmagic
Summary: AU story about our favorite shinigami as con artists who sell garden tools. Adaptations of manga/anime/musical plots are included.
1. Chapter 1 Part I

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own any character from Kuroshitsuji._

_**Author's Note:**_

_1. This is a 21st century Kuroshitsuji story and ALL characters are now HUMAN._

_2. This fanfiction is largely an adaptation of shinigami-related storylines from manga, anime (both season I and II) and the second musical. Also, you've probably found out that the title is made up of the initials of our five favorite shinigamis.  
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_3. I love all the characters in Kuroshitsuji. Therefore if you spot any OOCness, it would be a result of me trying to fit the character into the modern story, not that I'm offending any of them. In a word, just don't take my descriptions too serious because I was just trying to make things sound more fun._

_4. This fanfiction is rated M for frequent indications of adult elements. Unfortunately, no direct description of sex scenes are available in this fanfiction.  
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_5. This is in fact the English translation of my original work in Chinese. If you can understand Chinese, I highly recommend you to read the Chinese version since it's more expressive (and completed as well). Contact me if you want to know where to find the Chinese version.  
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_6. English is not my native language and my writing "jumps". _I might need more time to finish ranslating this fanfiction into English since it's extremely long_, and please tell me if you have trouble understanding the content._

_7. I also want to thank Ryu-chan and Allana for proofreading the first chapter of this lame fanfiction of mine.  
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_**Contents:**_

_Chapter One: File No. 006-013 (Jack the Ripper Arc)_

_Chapter Two: File No. 024-036 (Noah's Ark Circus Arc)_

_Chapter Three: File No. 051-? (Ship Voyage Arc)_

_Chapter Four: File No. 666-4242 (The Most Beautiful DEATH in the World)_

_Chapter Five: File No. 1799-1889 (The Story of Will the Reaper/Book of Doomsday Arc/Trancy Household Storyline)_

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W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter One

File No. 006-013

(I)

2011.1.9, 10:32pm, London, Funtom Corp., 32/F*.

At the end of the dark corridor, the door of a room was half-closed.

Two figures, one tall and the other short, were hiding at the corner, peeking at the doorway from time to time until a sudden crack from the room ended the long wait.

"Let's go, Sebastian!" The young boy, Ciel, was quick to respond to the sound and immediately ran to the door.

Sebastian followed, forcefully kicking the door open and shining his flashlight into the room. "It was quite a brilliant plan, wasn't it…?" In a pitch black suit, Sebastian stood in front of his master, "Mr. Grell?"

"No, it's not what you think…" Grell's eyebrows twitched as he rose by a security box, "When I heard the noise and got here, the box was already open…" He looked as if he needed some comfort.

"If you want to go on pretending in this foolish manner, it would be fine by me." Sebastian continued coldly, "I've long heard about you and your comrades, Mr. Grell, but I must confess this is the first time I actually encounter one of you. Disguising as Madam Red's useless secretary – the acting was almost flawless, wasn't it?"

"Flawless?" Grell deliberately repeated Sebastian's words with his fake timid voice as his sad eyebrows trembled. Then, he unlocked his flaming red lips and showed two rows of sharp shark-like teeth inside as he laughed in ferocious joy, "Is that so?" Then, he pulled his hair band apart and released his crimson waterfall of long, long hair. "That's right! I might as well be the most talented actress you could ever imagine!" Next, he threw away his original pair of cheap, round glasses and started putting on make-up while mocking the man in front of him, "Nevertheless, you aren't Sebastian, either, are you?"

"Well, since my young master gave me this name, I am Sebastian for the moment."

As he listened, Grell put on a pair of frames which was red and bright as his hair. Playing with the tiny skulls hanging on the eyeglass chains, he remarked, "Alas, you're pretending to be a loyal dog. But a hottie like you would look good in any role. Then, Sebastian, no, Sebby, please allow me to reintroduce myself. I'm Grell Sutcliff, the secretary of Angelina Durless, also known as Madam Red. We're of the same profession, raren't we? It is so nice meeting you here❤!" He blew a kiss to Sebastian as he ended the sentence. "Ah, I can finally see you in my true form now, but watching an invincible man like you working under a kid definitely gave me a good shock at first sight!"

"Well, I might as well return the same remark." Emotionlessly, Sebastian said, "People like you working as someone's secretary… People who exist between good and bad, right and wrong… Why?"

"The reason could be," Grell grinned skittishly, "that I've fallen for a certain woman."

Regardless of the fact that he knew the answer, Sebastian continued, "And that woman would be…"

Her deep voice appeared as Madam Red came out from the depth of the darkness, "There's no need to ask anymore, right?"

Ciel, who hid behind Sebastian all this time, finally moved to the front of his subordinate. He knew Madam Red was inside, but it was still hurtful to find his relative alongside a criminal.

Madam Red lit a cigarette and sneered, "I must confess that I didn't expect anyone to find out about Grell's identi…"

Ciel interrupted before she could finish, "You were on the suspect list from the very beginning, Madam Red, but you had the perfect alibi. However, since no one else could have done it, also because you have the help from this man, it was a totally different story. You are the only two that could go in and out of different places without a trace, and open a security box within seconds, like ghosts. Those female celebrities with secret abortion records either locked the history up or even destroyed them. Yet blackmails reached them one after another. By tracing the source of the records, it's not that hard to put a gynecologist on the top of the list. Among those who received blackmail calls, Mary Jane Kelly was the only victim whose medical history hadn't been unveiled. I thought we could stop you two by ambushing here, but it turned out that you've already sent her record to the media." Ciel ended his words with a sigh.

Madam Red blew a smoking ring out of her mouth as she drew a long breath, "What a pity, Ciel, my adorable nephew. If you didn't find out about this, we could still be playing chess by the fireplace. But this time, there's no way I'm letting you win again!" She violently stamped out her cigarette with her heel, and all of a sudden, took out a dagger.

"Young master!" Just when Sebastian was about to rescue his master, the high-pitched cackles of a chainsaw penetrated his eardrums. Sebastian turned his head and asked, "So this is the so-called 'sickle' that people from your place use?"

Grell immediately retorted like a pouting young girl, "Ah, can't you just quit using this lousy name? This is a death scythe made just for me! It's been a long time since we both had the chance to stretch our bodies. I was even worrying that we might become too slow… But now, we can finally prepare ourselves for an intense battle with Y-O-U❤!"

A shade of disgust rapidly ran across Sebastian's face as he asked Grell, "Would you mind stop being such an unbearable pervert? I'm still working right now."

"Oh, a hottie is a hottie. You're always so irresistible, no matter what you do!" Grell swung his chainsaw with so much enthusiasm that it seemed the center of adrenalin was activated in his body. "Don't worry, I promise I'd paint your incomparably handsome face with my favorite color – RED! I'm sure you'll look even more alluring!" He jumped to the front of Sebastian, much to the latter's surprise, and forcefully knocked his forehead against Sebastian's. "Please don't forget this 'kiss' of ours, Sebby. Do take good care of yourself, my darling!" Shaking in excitement, Grell's chainsaw mercilessly bit across Sebastian's body, fulfilling the promise made earlier.

Within seconds, Sebastian's suit was dyed crimson…

Madam Red and Ciel were the only two left in the room.

"Madam, you're a doctor. You're supposed to be saving lives… Why?"

"Shut up! How can I expect a kid like you to understand my motives? Just because they're rich and famous, those shallow sluts never valued their own body, not to mention the innocent lives they created and killed! They really think they can wipe away their blot forever, and go on wasting their lives? I need to teach them a lesson!" Madam Red was at the peak of her anger so she, with the brute force of an adult, seized Ciel by the throat. "What about you? Do you still want to help those stupid whores? Who do you think you are, Ciel? I just wish you've never been born!" Madam Red raised the dagger above her head, and a few bloody stabs just seemed unavoidable.

"Young master!" Sebastian, who was dodging Grell's chainsaw, rushed to Ciel's direction, ignoring the fact that the blades almost cut him in half. Nevertheless, he was too far from his master to stop Madam Red…

However, at that moment, from Ciel's sapphire eyes, Madam Red saw the face of her late sister, Rachel… Not only this, all those intolerably painful memories of the past fountained in her heart like crazy: The wedding of Rachel and _that man_… The car accident that took everything away from her… The fire at the mansion… The funeral of Rachel and _that man_…

As the dagger fell onto the floor, tears followed.

"I, I can't do it…" Madam Red folded herself up in her own arms and muttered cowardly, "After all, this child is my…"

The chainsaw roared and left a bloody red mark on Madam Red's chest.

"How disappointing!" Grell snapped furiously, "I have no interest in you now! Even if you can't pull yourself together to kill the kid, you can at least castrate him! I can't believe you turn out to be a bromide… You are no match for red." When he was done with his speech, Grell pulled Madam Red's exclusive limited edition red coat off and put it on himself. "Farewell, Madam Red." He dragged the blood-stained chainsaw and walked toward the only window of the room, apparently discouraged.

Sebastian instantly took out his phone and dialed 999.

"Sebastian, what are you doing?" asked Ciel.

Sebastian turned and stared blankly at his boss.

"Being the royal family's secret police, how are we supposed to face Europe's upper class if we let this man get away?"

"I know what to do now, young master." Sebastian hung up with slight unwillingness, took off his already wound-riddled suit coat and sighed, "Now, I do not want to sacrifice this memorable souvenir from Funtom Corporation, but I have no choice."

"Oh?" Grell turned around curiously, "You are finally taking me seriously now, aren't you? Ah, I just can't say no to you… But do you really think some trash like you that works as someone else's assistant could beat me?"

Sebastian smirked, "Well, you never know before you try it."

Once again, Grell switched his chainsaw to the most violent mode, "Fine, then it's time for you to get a taste of mine…" His smile froze as Sebastian threw his coat into the chainsaw.

Grell's jaws almost dropped as the roar of the chainsaw gradually went out of tune and at last, stopped. The redhead hastily shook his chainsaw, hoping that it would resume, but that damn machine just wouldn't start again.

"I hope you could understand, Mr. Grell." Sebastian bowed and lowered his head. Feeling the nervous, quivering yet feverish breath of his opponent on his cheeks, he smiled relentlessly and asked, "Don't you think this is fairer for someone who does not have weapons in his hands?"

"Hey," Blushing, Grell scooched backwards, "please, not the face."

But Sebastian ain't no Mr. Nice Guy.

5 minutes later, Grell could only curl up under Sebastian's shoes, both facially and mentally wounded.

"Your howls are indeed harsh, but they do sound very uplifting." Sebastian got hold of Grell's chainsaw and pulled the suit out, "If this is all a 'Grim Reaper' has got, you guys are definitely overrated." After that, he held the chainsaw above his head and was about to cut his beaten opponent alive…

All of a sudden, the chainsaw went silent again.

Ciel and Sebastian turned to the window at the same time.

Sitting on the window sill was a man with a pair of rectangular frames, whose hair was gelled to a neurotic 3/7 state. An incredibly long pruning pole stretched from his hands to the chainsaw.

"I apologize for interrupting. I'm William T. Spears from Grim Reaper Garden Tools Limited." He withdrew his pruning pole to adjust his glasses, "I've come to retrieve this employee of ours."

Like a princess who was finally saved by her Prince Charming, Grell called in tears, "Will, William… Did you come to save me?"

Without answering, William kicked Grell aside. Then, as if not enough, he treaded on Grell's red hair and announced, "Grell Sutcliff, you've violated several regulations. First, you signed a contract with a third party without the company's permission. Second, you used company facilities without filling in a request sheet. Lastly, you facilitated theft and leakage of customer information." Then, without a blink, William prodded Grell to the corner of the room with his pruning pole. "I'm sincerely sorry for the trouble caused by this trash." William walked toward Sebastian and Ciel and handed in a card with his death scythe as he bowed, "This is my business card." As William lowered his head, Sebastian could hear him murmuring, "Honestly, making me apologize to such a disgusting creature, he's certainly smearing mud on the company's name."

Sebastian couldn't help but form a forced smile, "If this is the case, please keep an eye on your employees, otherwise they'll just run around like hounds without collars. People who experience overwhelming powerlessness would risk anything once they find a shortcut out of their misery. No matter what position they occupy, this weak point always exists."

"Now you're trying to sound like a righteous man!" William despitefully glared at Sebastian, "Aren't you the person who's using this weak side of man for some selfish reasons?"

Sebastian shrugged as he answered, "I would not deny that."

William then turned his face to Ciel, "Although nothing about this kid interests me, I must confess he's easier to manage than this collarless hound of ours." Finishing, he dragged Grell by his hair and threw the redhead onto his left shoulder, "Time to go now, Grell Sutcliff." He was still complaining when he reached the window sill, "Honestly, it's the last day of the New Year holidays and you can't let me relax even a little bit. Just thinking about dealing with your absence tomorrow morning makes me wonder whether you want our company to close down…"

Without warning, Sebastian flung the chainsaw at William from behind.

To his surprise, William caught the chainsaw with two bare fingers. "Thanks." said William as he glanced back at the room with his grim eyes. "Now, would you excuse us…" Without hesitation, William jumped out of the window.

"What?" Ciel rushed to the sill, "Thi, this is the 32nd floor; he's got a chainsaw in one hand and a pruning pole in the other, and also a man on his shoulder… There's no way he's gonna survive jumping down like this…" He could not believe his eyes when he looked out of the window, "How is this even possible…"

Outside the window, the traffic on the streets remained smooth, and William and Grell were nowhere to be found.

Sebastian walked closer and apologized, "I'm terribly sorry for letting him get away, young master."

"Never mind, just call the ambulance." Ciel turned to look at the blood-drenched Madam Red, "The criminal who blackmailed celebrities with abortion records is now arrested. The case is over." He turned around to leave the room, but stopped again and ordered, "Sebastian, I demand thorough investigation on this so-called 'Grim Reaper Garden Tools Limited'!"

"Yes, my Lord."

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*The Chinese translation for the name Ciel is similar to the pronunciations of number 3 and 2 together. (not "thirty-two" but "three" and "two") Therefore, Chinese Kurofans usually call Ciel by the name "32". Same reason why Sebastian's office would be No. 384 as you proceed to the next half of this chapter.


	2. Chapter 1 Part II

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter One

File No. 006-013

(II)

2011.1.9, 11:04pm, London, a certain crossing.

Waiting for the traffic lights, William finally had the chance to take a look at the redhead he had dumped onto the backseat.

"Idiot, why help Madam Red?"

"Because I want to teach those self-important women a lesson…"

"But that's none of your business!"

"Of course it is…" Grell buried his face into the depth of the seat, with his back facing William, as he shuffled, "The greatest happiness of a woman's life is being able to give birth, but those sluts never treasured this… They even tried to cover up their dirty secrets by destroying the records! Madam Red suffered a lot because she couldn't give birth anymore, and I was only helping her to vent her hatred… I, I just can't believe she betrayed…"

"Enough!" William snapped him, "It's nothing but bullshit anyway. Honestly, saving you from the 32nd floor cost me 6 steel wires I ordered from Germany last month, each worth 250000 pounds. Also, the gas fee tonight goes onto your payroll."

"Will…"

"Shut up. Plus, you really think turning your back to me can keep me from remembering the horribly wounded face I saw just now? And, you idiot… BUCKLE UP! If I got a ticket for this, I would go on making your payroll suffer."

Before Grell could respond, William's mobile rang. William quickly answered it since the light was still red, "Hello? Yeah, he went out tonight. I'm driving him home now. Honestly, why do you have so many questions? And what's with the music in the background? Are you still hitting bars _tonight_? Just quit explaining. If you dare come late tomorrow morning, you'd definitely get a pay cut."

When William hung up, Grell asked weakly, "Was that Ronald?"

"Yeah." William answered as he tossed his mobile onto the passenger seat, "He said he missed you on MSN the whole evening and you weren't answering your phone… That's why he decided to annoy me instead. Honestly, hanging out in bars _tonight_? He should be worrying about his own life instead…"

As the traffic light turned green, the car accelerated and drove ahead.

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2011.1.9, 11:18pm, London, Funtom Corp. Mezzanine, Office No. 384.

Sebastian opened a huge screen as he asked, "Young master, I assume you've heard about them?"

"You mean, 'Grim Reapers'?"

"Yep," Sebastian nodded as he double clicked a video, "you must have seen this before…"

A man in a crease-free suit holding a pruning pole appeared on the screen. "Today I'll be introducing this extremely efficient pruning pole to you. You can easily reach anything, no matter how high or how far it is, with this tool. Withdrawing it is also very simple. Call now and you could receive an extra lawnmower. Our purchase hotline is 444-444-444. We're looking forward to your calls."

"Wait, isn't this guy the one we saw just now…"

"That's right, young master." Then, Sebastian opened a slideshow, "'Grim Reaper Garden Tools Limited' is a most ordinary company, or so it seems. Actually, this is just a cover and the people in it are all members of the most fearsome theft gang in Europe – 'Grim Reapers'."

Ciel's eyes widened when he heard the name, "You mean, they are the gang where each member has their unique skills, and who can come and go like phantoms? As far as I know, they are a bunch of freaks that have their eye on valuable secrets instead of jewelries or any other actual treasure."

"Isn't it pretty obvious, young master? In fact, they do steal some goods now and then, but the stolen goods would all be returned at last, _ironically_. And before you knew it, scandals involving their targets were flying everywhere… Young master, they are indeed doing what you may call 'judging the past, determining the future", just like real grim reapers."

Ciel snorted to show how nauseous he felt toward such an idea, "Even if their targets were no innocent beings, doesn't mean the 'Grim Reapers' are righteous heroes! I simply despise these overbearing outlaws. You may now proceed, Sebastian."

Sebastian smiled, "As you wish, young master." He pressed enter to skip to the next slide. "The man we saw just now, William T. Spears, is the head of 'Grim Reapers'. He's a master of various devices and equipment. Just look at how skillful he is in the use of pruning poles. Hard-headed he is, and does not let anything, from his hair-style to his emotions, go out of control. I believe we've encountered a stubborn rationalist."

After a few seconds staring at William's picture, Ciel asked, "If this is so, then that pervert he saved must be a rookie, right?"

"I'm afraid you're wrong, young master." Sebastian formed a slight grin and switched to the next slide, "Grell Sutcliff was in fact William's classmate at university. I believe they're equally hard to deal with. And the field he's expert in would be… I assume you've noticed it too, young master. No matter burglarproof doors or security boxes, none of these works for him. From my observation, he's also an extremely capable acrobat. Although he's exceptionally disgusting at times, I don't think underestimating him would do us any good." He jumped to the next slide when he finished.

Ciel pointed to the screen in astonishment as he saw the next picture, "Wait a second, isn't this the man who always shows up in celebrity parties and acted like he's best pals with say, everyone?"

"Despite his pretending to be some lousy party moocher, Eric Slingby's true identity is the social network architect of 'Grim Reapers'. By hooking up with the rich and famous, he has built up steady connections that are essential to ensuring their company to run smoothly. I've heard that he's closest to Viscount Druitt, and some paparazzi have even reported that the two of them had a 'higher than friendship' relationship."

"I know that. But the rumor disappeared after Viscount Druitt was spotted holding group sex parties with some female models the next day."

Sebastian nodded, "Although this is the case, there exist reports saying that Eric has no interest in women. Anyway, let's just drop this and move on to the next one – Alan Humphries. He's the kind of straight-A student that every Ivy League member would want in their pockets. He is so far the gang member with the least exposure. Because his calculating skill is competent, William has a very high opinion of him and has already allowed him to handle the financial affairs of the company. I believe dealing with this guy is no easy task either."

Ciel's patience was wearing thin as he snapped, "What are you talking about, Sebastian? What's the point of having you here if every single one of them is so difficult to defeat?" At that moment, Sebastian switched to the last slide, and Ciel instantly raised his finger, "Okay, I assume this frivolous youngster is a rookie!"

Sebastian's head slightly tilted as if not knowing how to react, "Well, you are partially right, young master. But I'd rather call him another huge headache rather than a newbie." He clicked the mouse again, "Firstly, Ronald Knox is a U.S. citizen."

"That's very obvious." said Ciel, "Just look at that arrogant chunk of hair on his forehead! One must be blind to fail to see that he's one of those annoying Yankees*."

Sebastian continued on, "Well, this young'un is not only the youngest member of 'Grim Reapers', but also a computer wizard and an experienced hacker. It is said that because he 'has got the hang of it', he never works overtime. Wristwatch and white leather shoes are musts in life. Favorite food is tuna fish**. Hobbies include going to bars and hitting on girls. Calls himself a 'Gal Hunter' because he claimed to have the charm to seduce even the most reserved girls into giving her credit card password within 30 seconds…"

"Wait there, Sebastian, what's with all these crap? What I want is proper information!"

"I am terribly sorry, young master, but they are all over his Facebook page and I just couldn't help it… Shouldn't we be following him on Twitter as well?"

"Stop it." Ciel snapped again, "So this is what 'Grim Reapers' is all about, huh?"

"That's right, five pairs of glasses in total, and not so easy to take down."

That was when Ciel began to lash out at his subordinate, "What are you talking about, Sebastian? I guess you've watched too much 'Ocean's Eleven' or 'Hustle'***… Anyway, you really think this pimp gang so hard to defeat?"

"By that you mean…"

"Keep a keen eye on them, Sebastian. One day, I'll arrest them all!"

"Yes, my Lord."

XXXXX

2011.1.10, 00:05am, London, Grell Sutcliff's flat.

After dumping the feeble redhead onto the bed, William went directly for the door.

"Will!" Grell immediately clutched William's sleeve and begged, "Please, don't leave so soon…" Before Grell could finish, William had already pressed the redhead's face into the pillow with one hand, and pulled his red hair with the other.

"I'm warning you, Grell Sutcliff: Don't even think about going on your own and commit such foolish crimes ever again! I can save you this time, but if you get into another mess like this next time… You won't be so lucky!" William ended his sentence by throwing Grell to the edge of the bed, and again, walked to the doorway. "I've deducted a day from your annual leaves, so you can have the day off on the 10th, honestly." His words were followed by a loud bang on the door, footsteps down the stairs, and the noise of a car driving away.

Hearing William drive away, Grell lied on his stomach as a bittersweet feeling emerged from the inside. People might think he was a total rout in this matter, but for Grell, that might have just been the most passionate evening ever. Having been abused by two handsome men in a row within 2 hours actually made Grell feel kind of… happy.

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2011.1.10, 08:29am, London, Grim Reaper Garden Tools Ltd., meeting room.

William was working on some graph paper with a ruler, while Alan was tapping on a calculator and swiftly writing on scratch paper at the same time. Eric, on the other hand, was idly going through the morning press.

When the clock struck eight thirty, the glass door was abruptly burst open as Ronald rushed into the room. He came in with a sack of take-away breakfast from a certain 24-hour fast food restaurant in one hand, and typing like crazy on his phone keyboard with the other. "You must be joking! That Mary Jane Kelly has gone through an abortion before? What the hell? When I met her in a party last month, I thought she was the pure type. Can't believe she lied to me… I mean, I knew she wanted to jump me but I thought it was too soon so I didn't say yes. I should be thanking myself for having made the right choice."

"Thanking yourself?" Eric couldn't help laughing as he put the newspaper away, "C'mon, what sort of pure girls would want to hook up with you in the first place?"

Yet Ronald just ignored Eric's words and advanced to the next topic, "Hey, do you know that we have more than 10000 likes on our Facebook page now?"

Alan instantly lifted his head up in amazement, "We actually have a Facebook page?"

"Of course we do, Alan-senpai! The page had existed for some time, but it wasn't until our ad went on-air that the number of fans started to fly sky-high." Ronald just couldn't be pleased about the their expanding fanclub, "That's why it was the right decision to let me appear in the ad-" He shut his mouth the instant the light reflecting on William's glasses reached his eyes.

Eric could only grin at the scene, "The true star of the ad is definitely William. You were nothing but an extra, Ronald."

"Grell-senpai was also in the ad, although not in a very, eh, formal way…" Alan lowered his voice as he proceeded.

Hearing Alan's words, Ronald started to look around, "By the way, where's Sutcliff-senpai?"

"Got his ass kicked last night and is too ashamed to show up for work today." William answered coldly.

Alan's eyes widened and he asked, "Who could possibly kick Grell-senpai's _a_, sorry… I mean, who beat him up?"

"That vermin from Funtom Corp., Seba-" William stopped when he saw Ronald open their fanpage. On the top of the screen was the latest post:

"Nice meeting you all. Funtom Corp. will be watching you... Always watching… – Your 10000th Fan, Sebastian Michaelis"

"This was posted around midnight…" Yet this was not Ronald's only concern, "Wait a sec, I think I've seen this face before…"

Eric and Alan also came to the computer to join the screen-staring activity.

"I think I know this guy…" said Alan, "He's on Grell-senpai's cell phone wallpaper."

"And laptop screensaver…" added Eric.

"I know now! I saw this guy…" Ronald regretted being the last one to get the answer so much that he had to repeatedly knock on the table, "I saw this guy's face on Sutcliff-senpai's handbag accessories as well!"

"I've always thought that he was a movie star or something." Alan adjusted his glasses as he continued, "Turns out he's the secretary of the head of Funtom Corp., Earl Ciel Phantomhive."

"Secretary?" Eric asked in extreme astonishment, "Isn't he the earl's bodyguard?"

Ronald swiveled his chair around to face his two colleagues as he retorted, "No way! I've always thought he was the Phantomhive butler!"

With a stony face, William tried to pretend the other three were still listening and continued, "Sebastian Michaelis, personal assistant of the chairman of Funtom Corp., Ciel Phantomhive. Inseparable as the two seems, there has been rumors about his real intention in accepting this offer. Some said he did it for money, which is understandable. After all, it was right after the death of Ciel Phantomhive's parents when he became the second most influential figure in the company. However, because Funtom Corp. showed much trust to this man, nobody's mentioning the rumors again." Just when he was about to finish, he saw the look on the other three's faces as Ronald unexpectedly exclaimed:

"Holy crap, he's the honorary chairman of the Cat Fanciers' Association International Division****!"

Alan almost burst into laughter, "Now that is unexpected…"

Eric agreed, "Exactly. I mean, a guy so hot would really make a fine star. I just don't get why he wanted to be a kid's understrapper."

"Enough of all the useless chit-chats!" William violently ended their conversation by cutting off the power wire of the computer with his pruning pole, "Honestly, what's so good about this gigolo that you people just can't get your eyes off him?" What William really wanted to say was that if anyone had been into _that thing_'s room, the huge poster on his bedroom wall would sure make any cell phone wallpaper, screensaver and accessories feel dwarfed. Yet only those who had been in the room would know better. "In a word, this is the man who has kept Grell Sutcliff from coming to work. Due to the fact that we were on leave for the past few weeks, they didn't have the chance to track us down. However, as you have seen today, Funtom Corp. has its eye on us now, and it is very likely that all of us have been exposed, too. That's why from now on we must keep an eye on them as well so they can't mess with our missions. Understood?"

"Understood." answered the other three.

Right after that, Alan handed in the pile of scratch paper he had been working on all morning, "William-senpai, the results are out. The target company indeed has an enormous amount of income of unknown origins. It has been reported that its biggest shareholder, Baron Kelvin, is a freaky pedophilia who not only blushes in front of adorable children, but also fantasizes about jumping Ciel Phantomhive. As expected, something dirty is going on inside this place."

"Is that so?" William adjusted his glasses as he took a quick glance at Alan's work, "I've been observing them for quite long and now it's time for us to act, which means, everyone…" He put the pile back onto the table as he announced, "Our next target is – Noah's Ark Entertainment Group."

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*This refers to the chunk of hair on the forehead of U.S.A. from APH.

**Tuna is the name of my Ronald-is-my-bride fan so I'm doing this to service her.

***In fact, I was the one who watched too much "Hustle"…

****Just so you know, this is a real organization.


	3. Chapter 2 Part I

_**Author's Note: **__Thank you for reading my weird little fanfic…_

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Two

File No. 024-036

(I)

2011.1.10, 06:47pm, London, Grell Sutcliff's flat.

From dawn to dusk, Grell engaged himself in a never before _Don't Look into the Mirror_ challenge. In order to draw attention away from his own face, Grell turned up the stereo and tried to reread his beloved _"The Complete Works of William Shakespeare"_ under a mix of heavy metal and 80s pop*. Yet as night fell, all he had left was the energy to embrace the pillow while playing with his phone. _So the memory card is full again? God, why do I have so many hotties in my gallery… Guess I'll have to delete some then._ Throwing away his collection of random eye-candies every now and then might seem heartbreaking, but it was inevitable because Grell needed more and more space for a certain folder - the very folder that never had a single photo deleted since the day it was created. It was the place to store the countless secret snapshots of the man Grell had on his mind _all the time_.

There were also 3 text messages sent during lunch break:

"Eat good, sleep good. Don't forget to put on make-up before returning! –ES"

"Take a good rest. Don't forget about your beauty sleep. I've note down your schedules. No need to worry about work now. –AH"

"It's break time and I can FINALLY text you! Dunno what's the point of having such a strict rule in a company of 5… Anyway, U R my HERO, Sutcliff-senpai! Can't believe u disclosed soooooooo many inside info in only 3 wks! And u get to have a day off! NOT FAIR! I'm so jealous! I want a holiday too… C U tomorrow! –RK"

The messages were indeed heart-warming, but what Grell truly wanted to see was something from _that man… Okay, a phone call might be too much to ask, but he can at least send a text message… _While Grell was lost in his maiden thoughts, the doorbell redhead instantly tossed his phone aside and began searching in his drawer with a feeling that his life was hanging in the balance. Then all of a sudden, his phone shouted a loud "_DEATH!"_

"Eh? New message?_ 'No need to get your mask and sunglasses. Open the door. –WTS'_"

Who could've thought that the first message from William after Grell's injury would be so relentless? Grell didn't even know whether he was supposed to feel pleased. Nevertheless, he needed to open the door first!

As soon as the door opened, the redhead was totally freaked out by William's demand – "Clean up your table!" After watching Grell sweeping away all the colorful magazines and DVDs from the table, William sat down and turned on his laptop. "Let's get down to business, Grell Sutcliff. We've already agreed on our next mission. Since you were absent today, to prevent you from becoming our burden, I've decided to inform you of our plan in person." That was when William felt someone climbing up his shoulder from behind. He immediately scooched over and left Grell falling onto the sofa. Ignoring the redhead's groans, William continued coldly, "Preparation will last for one more day, so we'll be off the day after tomorrow. Here's what you need to do… Hey, get your hands off my shoulder!"

"But I can't see the screen…"

"Honestly, can't you just sit still? Now, back to where we were, you'll need to…"

"It's so boring sitting here, Will. How about I make some tea for you?"

"No, thanks."

"Why not? Just tell me what you want and I'll… Aahh!" A powerful hand grasped Grell's hair before he could stand up. The redhead fell heavily onto the leather surface right next to William's lap.

"Just do as you're told. Sit still… And quit thinking about all those nonsense. How can I stop worrying if you're always like this?"

A wide grin formed across Grell's face, "Oh? So Will does worry about me❤!"

"Don't interpret my words according to your stupid fantasies. I was only talking about the job… By the way, Madam Red is still in the ICU, and stable, luckily… Based on the fact that Ciel Phantomhive and Sebastian Michaelis were partially responsible for her injury because they deliberately delayed calling an ambulance, I assume they wouldn't bring a charge against you for the time being. Just so I know, Grell Sutcliff, if Madam Red died, do you think you can get away with a murder charge?" Without hearing an answer, William adjusted his glasses and sighed, "Honestly, don't go to such extremes next time, otherwise we can't..."

"Stop being so serious!" Grell, who had slowly moved to the other side of the sofa, looked extremely unhappy. "Can we just drop this? It was merely a personal decision and had nothing to do with 'Grim Reapers' from the very beginning!"

"Idiot, if that's the case, I wouldn't have to save you."

Grell smirked as he ran his fingers through his hair, "I knew Will wouldn't watch me die… Ouch!" Again, he was seized by the hair.

"I don't have time to play around, Grell Sutcliff. Just listen very carefully, honestly… Due to what had happened, I've decided to keep you from the spotlight, so this is what you need to do…"

As William explained on, the redhead once again clung on his boss's shoulder. This time, as if the gesture was too natural to be noticed, William didn't resist.

XXXXX

2011.1.12, 10:15am, London, Noah's Ark Entertainment Group, G/F.

As usual, Eric showed up wearing a loose tie. His suit coat was unbuttoned, so was the upper part of his shirt. He was followed by another man in a completely crease-free pantsuit, who, from head to toe, showed his very own air of seriousness. As soon as Eric and his companion entered the building, they were greeted by a well-dressed man with weird make-up below his left eye. "Eric Slingby!" The man reach out his hand as a smile stretched on his not-so-wide face, "Long time no see!" After a series of hand-shaking and uninteresting chit-chats, he turned to the other man, "So this is the stuntman Eric was talking about the other day! Hi, I'm Joker and welcome to Noah's Ark Entertainment Group! Now how should I call you, Mr. Glasses?"

Although Joker was apparently joking (Jokers tell jokes, don't they?), the man didn't seem to be pleased. After adjusting his glasses, he emotionlessly stated, "My name is not Glasses, it's Suit."

Joker was a bit puzzled at first, but he quickly returned to his cheerful self and said, "How interesting! I never expected to find the right stuntman a day before we go filming on location! Good, now let's go meet your future coworkers!" Then, Joker led the two into a lift and they went up to the top floor film studio.

They encountered two new faces the moment they got out of the lift.

The woman in front reminded William of Ronald's request:

"Please help me get Beast's number, please, please, please! Don't know her face? No problem. She's the one with aircraft-carrier-sized boobs!"

_Only a fool would say yes to such a request._

Before you knew it, Joker was already introducing people to each other, "This is the star of Noah's Ark, Miss Beast! Definitely the kind of beauty that makes men experience the painful pleasure of being swallowed by a hungry beast, right? Just joking…" Next, he pointed to the young man with a dot painted below each eye, "Mr. Dagger is also an artist here."

Just then, an unbelievably sexy young model walked past by.

With a quick glimpse at the chick, Eric asked, "Hey, isn't that girl Doll the legendary_ 'Busty Baby'_?"

Indifferently, William said, "They are fake."

The air in the corridor suddenly dropped to freezing point.

Eric instantly pinched William's arm.

"Want to take a leak, Mr. Suit?"

"No need."

"No, I think you really need go… You might not have time later!" Before William could retort, Eric had already dragged him away.

XXXXX

2011.1.12, 10:43am, London, Noah's Ark Entertainment Group, top floor, Men's Room.

Eric locked the door right after he entered, while William made sure nobody was in the cubicles.

"Head," Eric frowned as he ignored the "No Smoking" sign and lit a cigarette, "you're impossible."

"What? I was only telling the truth. Seriously, couldn't you people tell they were fake?"

"Of course we could! Even the blind know her boobs are fake… But that's exactly the problem!"

William's eyebrows twitched, "I'm afraid I have no idea what you are talking about, Eric Slingby."

Knowing his boss was completely unaware of how awkward he was, Eric just had to use the following example to get William's mind working, "Okay, it's like… We all know Grell is not a woman, but we never call him a dude upfront because it'd definitely piss him off. Same reason here! You don't have to be so direct and honest all the time! Plus, you are now asking them to offer you a job, not the other way around. I just wish you could be friendlier and show more, say… Eagerness? But the problem is… you never get any of the jokes and you know how mean you are! If they have a problem with you, we can't complete our mission, can we?"

William frowned as he questioned, "You are now using_ that thing _to tell me that our plan is a complete failure?"

"That's not what I meant. I'm just worried that they might not hire you… You are too cold."

"You worry too much, Eric Slingby." William adjusted his glasses calmly, "I'll soon show you that I can make them an offer they can't refuse."

XXXXX

2011.1.12, 11:08am, London, Noah's Ark Entertainment Group, top floor, Meeting Room.

"Tha, that was incredible!" Joker forgotten how many times he had repeated this sentence, "The pruning pole was so short in the beginning and then _WHOOSH_ it turned _this_ long!" He gestured with open arms. "_This_ long! And all those tightrope walking and trapeze swinging… Mr. Suit, do you used to work in a circus?"

"No!" Eric gave the answer before William could say anything, "He is actually new to the field… Acrobatics are only his, uh, hobbies."

"It's such an honor to have Mr. Suit joining us!" Joker beamed at the two as he showed them the contract, "Please sign right here!"

William scribbled a name on it on purpose. _This contract isn't going to last very long anyway…_

When they were about to leave the room, Joker reminded, "We'll set off for Cardiff tomorrow. Since Baron Calvin will also be coming with us, don't be late, Suit!"

Walking out of the room, they met Beast and Dagger again.

"Hey, Joker!" The grin on Dagger's face highly resembled the one shown on Joker's earlier, "I've found another genius stuntman!"

And so everyone's eyes focused on the man behind Dagger. Although in an ordinary dustcoat, the evil charm his eyes was still too impressive to be neglected. William would always recognize this man – Sebastian Michaelis.

"Let me introduce." Beast pushed Sebastian to the middle of the crowd, "Guys, this is Black."

Sebastian bowed, "Nice meeting you all."

"This is just fantastic!" Joker exclaimed, "Two stuntmen in one day, and real hot ones too! Thank god you guys aren't artists, otherwise I'm afraid I'm gonna be out of job. Hey, Suit, come greet your colleague!" Joker tried to cheer William up by intimately messing up his hair.

William pushed Joker away and tidied up his hair within 3 seconds.

Eric noticed the murderous look on William's face.

It was Sebastian who spoke first, "So this is Mr. Suit? Nice to meet you."

But William snapped him, "Don't even think about messing with me."

The air again dropped to the freezing point.

"Ah, haha, Suit is very good at telling jokes!" Joker cleverly interrupted, "Just when everybody else thinks he has facioplegia, he's actually an expert in enlivening the atmosphere… And you just can't stop wondering why this very unique boy chose to be a stuntman!"

Sebastian smiled politely, as he always did, "It's my honor to be able to work with you, Mr. Suit. I'm looking forward to our future cooperation." He reached out his hand to William in a friendly manner.

Yet William directly shot his pruning pole toward Sebastian… If Sebastian didn't withdraw his hands fast enough, he might have already lost a few fingers.

"I'm sorry, but…" said William as he left the crowd without looking back, "I just don't feel the same… at all."

XXXXX

* I remember Toboso-sensei said Grell first character song was heavy metal while the second song reminded her of 80s pop... So techinically, Grell was listening to his own character songs...


	4. Chapter 2 Part II

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Two

File No. 024-036

(II)

2011.1.13, 12:37am, Cardiff, a certain hotel.

The bellboy opened the glass door and greeted, "Welcome!"

Beast couldn't help but whispered to Dagger's ear, "Aren't you surprised that the bellboy is such a beauty?"

"Of course I am." Dagger nodded, laughing naughtily, "He could definitely make it to _Father_'s bedroom if he were a few years younger…"

On the other hand, Joker announced, "Alright, people, since vacant rooms are limited here, could you please don't whine about your roommate once you're assigned one? Now I'm going to tell you the room-sharing plans…"

It seemed that Sebastian's undercover mission was planned some time ago instead of a temporary plot against 'Grim Reapers', so William and the rest of the gang weren't _that_ worried about his presence. As long as they stayed away from each other and stick to the status quo, nothing could possibly go wrong. Interestingly, Sebastian seemed to know this as well. The two stayed as far away from each other as possible since morning, as if they had reached a silent agreement.

Just then, Joker announced the result for the last shared room, "Room 225*, Suit and Black!"

An invisible bolt of lightning struck both William and Sebastian at the same time.

"Oh, what a coincidence!" Joker gave William and Sebastian their room card, completely unaware of the hidden battles going on in his new coworkers' minds, "Be nice to your colleague!"

"We will…"

"Will not…"

"Oh, I almost forgot!" added Joker, "One major scene today involves the hero catching one of the supporting actors in midair when the latter is falling. So it's going to be like – trapeze flying! I bet you two can handle it very well!"

Sebastian nodded without thinking, "Sure we can."

William instantly objected, "You have no right to use _we_ here, understood? And I do not need you to catch me!" He aimed at Sebastian with his pruning pole, "Don't even think about touching my hand!"

Sebastian blinked innocently and sighed, "It's just a movie, Mr. Suit. What's the big deal? Plus, it's not like I want to take advantage of you on purpose, right?" To Sebastian, this die-hard is certainly more difficult to cope with than a certain pervert with a mouthful of suggestive expressions. If it weren't for the mission to carry out thorough investigation on Noah's Ark, Sebastian definitely wanted to turn around and leave the place. While he was thinking, William had already climbed up the stairs. "Mr. Suit!" Sebastian hurried to William and took his hand, "Let's take the lift to our room."

With a stony face, William shook Sebastian off and warned, "I've just told you not to touch me… Also, I don't want to stay in the same room with a disgusting creature like you. Just take the lift alone if you want it so bad."

"But we're supposed to be living in the same room, aren't we?" Sebastian kept on following, "You can't avoid me forever."

The more Sebastian insisted on the two of them hanging out together, the more William wanted to stay away from him. However, William didn't retort out loud because he assumed Sebastian would annoy him more if he did. At that moment, all William wanted to do was to run away.

_Honestly, what sort of movie would involve two men catching each other's hands? This is just… Sick._

XXXXX

2011.1.13, 09:26pm, Cardiff, a certain hotel, Room 225.

William didn't want to talk about his first day as a stuntman.

Well, it wasn't _that_ bad. At least when the director found out that a certain supporting actor would rather fall to his death than being saved by the hero, he decided to let this guy do an awesome backward somersault to safety instead. Although this arrangement satisfied William's special needs, it was indeed way too unrealistic to be accepted by a rational production crew. It was just humiliating to be part of such an idiotic crew…

That's why William didn't want to talk about his day at work at all.

So far done with his shower, William took a quick glance at his mailbox:

"Head, all the bugs are set and functioning. –ES"

"William-senpai, a total of 13 underage children entered the hotel today. 4 went into Baron Calvin's room and by 9pm, 2 are still inside. All necessary data are on record. –AH"

"Network functioning normally. PS: Didn't you get Beast's number for me, senpai? I'm still waiting TAT –RK"

William quickly replied Ronald, "Honestly, you need to have very strange taste to become interested in such a shallow woman. –WTS"

53 seconds later, Ronald replied, "How mean… discouraging a single man like me when you've got the best actress in your pocket. –RK"

William totally wanted to bang that blond's head against the wall, but a call from _The Best Actress_ came before he could do anything.

"Will❤!" It was a voice William couldn't be more familiar with. "Have you just done showering?"

"How did you know?"

"How? It's a woman's instinct!"

"A woman…"

"So Will and Sebastian are sharing the same room now?"

"It's just a temporary place to live. Don't make it more than that."

"Ahh, I'm so jealous… You two won't hook up with each other, will you?"

"Are you nuts? Who would…" All of a sudden, William had the feeling that he was being bugged. He immediately turned on the shower and made it so loud so no one could hear what he was saying inside the bathroom. "Honestly, could you just quit thinking about all this nonsense? We've got only one evening to finish everything so you'd better go prepare right now!" He abruptly hung up to avoid further questioning. "This is just… Calling so suddenly… Now it's hard for me recall what I had been thinking…" He shut down the shower and left the bathroom, looking extremely disturbed.

As expected, Sebastian was sitting right outside the door before he rose and asked, "I suppose I'm not violating your personal space right now, am I?" He pointed to the borderlines William marked with his pruning pole on the carpet earlier.

William walked straight to his bed as he questioned the other, "I assume you've had plenty of fun bugging me?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I'm warning you, Sebastian Michaelis. No matter what you've come for, if you dare interfere…" William aimed at Sebastian's heart with the sharp end of his pruning pole, "With my death scythe, I'd immediately penetrate you from the inside out."

"'From the inside out'? Now this expression does sound kind of familiar." This reminded Sebastian of what had happened three days ago…

XXXXX Flashback XXXXX

2011.1.10, 15:16pm, London, Undertaker Workshop.

Along with the security box Grell opened the night before, Ciel and Sebastian knocked at the door of the most distinguished security box designer in Europe.

"I still have trouble getting used to this name…"complained Ciel, "Why would anyone call himself 'Undertaker' when all he does is designing security boxes?"

"People with outstanding talents are usually a bit freaky, young master."

"Yeah, you're right. He's the kind of man who doesn't care about money at all, but would do anything just to listen to what he calls 'jokes'… Undertaker?"

As the door opened before Ciel and Sebastian, Undertaker, whose eyes hid behind his grey bangs, turned to his guests, "Hehehe, so you've finally decided to lock yourself up in a security box forever, earl?"

"That's not the reason I'm here! Undertaker, I need your help."

Undertaker took a quick glimpse at the security box in Sebastian's hands, and asked in feigned surprise, "Oh, so this is the very box you used to fish the blackmailer?"

"That's right. We put the genuine medical history inside in order to set him up, but still… I mean, who could have thought that he could open the box so quickly?"

Undertaker couldn't help cackling, "Oh, don't feel so depressed, earl. You aren't a frequent visitor here, so please don't hold back. Do give me a 'first-rate laugh'…"

Ciel nodded and ordered, "You know what to do, Sebastian."

"As you wish."

3 minutes later, Undertaker's laughter almost shattered the ceiling into pieces.

"Ahahahaha… This is so… Ah, so amazing… I can't believe such a nice talk show still exists in today's England! Oh, you're gonna make all those famous hosts feel like noobs… Anyway, tell me your problem now, earl, and I will just tell you everything I know."

Nevertheless, Ciel didn't look so pleased, "I just don't get you, Undertaker. He was only babbling to himself… Never mind, let's get to business. Undertaker, I want you to tell me how this box was opened."

Sebastian placed the security box on Undertaker's desk.

Undertaker looked inside for a few seconds, and played with the corners and edges for a while before he remarked slowly, "This guy, the one who opened this box, ain't nobody."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Ciel.

"You see, he opened the box without hurting the outside… I assume it's the 'Grim Reapers', right?"

Ciel nodded, "You got it."

"Hehehe, the beauty of this trick is that the box was not opened from the outside. Do you see that, earl? It was opened from the inside out."

"From the inside out? How is that even possible?" Ciel looked confused.

"Well, I trust that Mr. Assistant here could give you an answer."

"I guess you're right." said Ciel as he left for the door, "I'll come again when I need you next time."

"Goodbye then, earl. Please, do take good care of yourself, alright? Hehehe…" As the footsteps of Ciel and Sebastian died out, Undertaker's smile gradually stilled. With his long fingers, he unveiled a pair of silver glasses which was originally hidden behind his hair, and said, "Opening a security box from the inside out? Hehehe, that's only a myth, earl… Do forgive me. After all, I have once bored the same name, too… Hehehe…"

XXXXX End of Flashback XXXXX

2011.1.13, 09:36pm, Cardiff, a certain hotel, Room 225.

Done with his flashbacks, Sebastian directly asked William, "I seriously want to know how you people open security boxes."

"Why? You want a career change or something?"

"That's not what I meant. I'm just curious."

"Honestly, if it weren't for what had happened, I wouldn't have to face you vermin at this very moment."

Sebastian's eyebrows rose slightly as he asked in astonishment, "Is that so? Do tell me more about it, Mr. William."

William sat on his bed, turned his back to Sebastian, opened his notebook and explained, "According to the original plan, I was not the one who needed to be here."

"Oh? So what forced you here while it's just too obvious that you are, you know, exceptionally busy?"

"Do not mistake my meaning. I'm only filling in for that trash... Just because we were classmates, people expect me to fix everything whenever he stirs up a problem, honestly…"

"But you're the head of 'Grim Reapers'. I suppose no one would dare say no if you did otherwise."

"You're really one ignorant being, Sebastian Michaelis." William shut his notebook and turned around, "What's the point of becoming the leader of 'Grim Reapers' when you can't even give a little bit of sacrifice?"

Sebastian shut his eyes and asked with a wicked smile on his face, "Aren't you worried that I might interfere?"

William responded coldly, "Well, if you can really_ interfere_..."

"God, you're so mean." Sebastian slightly scratched his forehead. "That's why I think, on the social competence level, you're a million times worse than that infamous classmate of yours."

William's eyebrows twitched violently when he heard the remark.

XXXXX

2011.1.13, 09:59pm, Cardiff, a certain hotel, Room 225.

After spending almost half an hour dressing up, Sebastian had successfully turned himself into world's No.1 Ladies' Man. Just when he was about to open the door, Sebastian found the blade of William's death scythe resting on his neck.

William got out of his bed, still wearing pajamas, and asked, "It's the middle of the night. What are you up to, vermin?"

"Is it because of you are socially awkward, or that you're just paranoid? What do I look like I'm up to, Mr. William?" Sebastian smiled to him, "Just loosen up, okay? Don't worry. I won't interfere, whether it's your sleep or anything else…"

"I can't risk letting you go out of my sight. It's way too insane."

Sebastian seemed to know exactly the right thing to say, though he pretended to look surprised, "Why, Mr. William, I thought you do that quite often!"

William went silent. In fact, he was only being sarcastic. He actually wanted Sebastian to disappear as soon as possible. After all, if Sebastian stayed in the room all night, _he_ would have to be the one to sneak out.

"Just so you know, Mr. William. I'm not coming back tonight." said Sebastian.

William didn't even look at him, "You'd better not get yourself carried away, understood?"

Sebastian smiled without a word as he shut the door.

The moment Sebastian left the room, William turned on his laptop and put on his headphone as he ordered, "Grim Reapers, we are going into action now."


	5. Chapter 2 Part III

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Two

File No. 024-036

(III)

2011.1.13, 10:03pm, Cardiff, a certain hotel, Top Floor Balcony.

"What are you doing up here, beauty?"

Sebastian's unexpected pick-up line made Beast's heart palpitate like crazy. Yet she still had a skeptical look on her face, "Don't you think it's too abrupt to sneak up on a lady like this?"

"Abrupt? Oh, I'm terribly sorry about this, but the evening is so long and dull… Don't you think it's more fun to add a little surprise to it?"

"Now you're getting even more straightforward." Beast offered Sebastian a cigar, but he rejected.

"Well, you wouldn't know how straightforward I was if you weren't thinking about the same thing, right?"

That was when Beast started to feel powerless in front of this man, but she still tried hard to look calm, "It's your first day to work and you're already hitting on me? How dare you…"

But Sebastian had this famous smile of his that no woman could resist, "If I can share this very splendid night with you, I wouldn't even care whether I get to see the next daybreak." He gently held Beast's chin in his hand. "Please don't hesitate… I'm not expecting a second chance anyway."

No matter how tactful a woman thought she was, it was just impossible to turn down such a breathtaking hottie. Not to mention that Beast only _looked_ tactful…

XXXXX

At the same time, in this very hotel, a plot that would change the fate of Noah's Ark was unraveled.

"Now report your positions in turn - Ronald Knox."

"In Room 316, done hacking into the hotel's central computer. CCTV's functioning properly. Over."

"Alan Humphries."

"In Room 315, ready to give support to whoever needs help. Over."

"Eric Slingby."

"Standing right next to the entrance of the ventilator. On the lookout. Over."

"At last, Grell Sutcliff."

"Inside the air duct… Over DEATH!"

"Where are you now?"

"6.5 meters from where the security box is."

"Report as soon as you get there."

"Got it…" Just when Grell was crawling through the air duct, he asked, "I still don't see why we must put so much effort into stealing that third-rate actress's… Belt? I mean, everything's just pointless since we'll return it, right, Will?"

"You just can't see my real intention, can you? I deliberately let Sebastian Michaelis peek at my memo so he knows exactly what we're up to tonight. That's why he went off to woo the owner of the belt, and I believe he would be in her room very soon. First, I'm going to show him how we can steal the treasure away under his _supervision_. Second, it's just so much easier to get things done when that vermin stays in the same place all night long."

"You're mean, Will." Grell was a bit resentful at what William had said, "Dumping the most difficult and meaningless part on me…"

"Who said it was meaningless? What you're about to do is essential in covering up our true purpose, okay? Plus," William stopped for a moment, as if he had trouble admitting a fact, "you're just better at this than the rest of us."

"Ahh… Are you complimenting me, Will❤?"

"I'm just telling the truth. Don't make it more than that… Also, don't tell anyone else about this."

Grell giggled, "I know, Will… I know." Grell had always enjoyed these intimate conversations. He couldn't see William in front of him, but he could feel the depth of his own cochlea shaking in unstoppable excitement. William's voice always had the magic to enter straight into Grell's spine, like an electric shock, and fill his body with pleasure. "Hey, Will…" Grell asked, "The press said that Beast's belt was made of furs and skins of a dozen kinds of animals. Do you believe this?"

"What I believe does not matter. Like you said, we're returning it tomorrow morning anyway. But I'm sure she'd be in huge trouble if animal welfare groups learnt about this belt."

"Yeah, right… A bunch of hot-blooded radicals they are…" Grell stopped right there, and after a deep breath he reported, "Will, I'm there."

XXXXX

Beast's infamous belt was kept in a security box inside a separate compartment of her VIP room. Entering the compartment required fingerprint verification, which was completely useless in stopping the "Grim Reapers".

Grell looked down from the air duct. Exactly like the plan view William showed him earlier, the compartment was completely empty with only one security box sitting inside the wall. Just when Grell was about to get out of the duct, he heard William ask through the earphone:

"Have you tied your hair up?"

"Why, you wanna see it❤?"

"Idiot, it's not like I haven't seen it before. Anyway, be careful. Don't swing your hair back and forth, otherwise the infrared ray might hit you."

"Now you're being considerate, Will…"

"Honestly, we don't have time for this nonsense. Just go open the security box. Be quick."

"Yes, Sir!" After that, Grell closed his eyes and found the directions of all the infrared rays inside the room appearing in his mind. He only had one night to remember this, but for an A student like Grell Sutcliff, it was all he needed. By changing the pose as he went down, Grell successfully avoid being detected by any of the infrared rays*. It only took him 1 minute and 3 seconds to complete the journey from the exit of the air duct to the center of the room, and from the center of the room to the front of the security box.

"Will, I'm in front of the box now."

"I give you 60 seconds."

Only 47 seconds had passed when Grell locked the box up, already with the target belt around his neck.

That was when William switched his object of conversation to someone else, "Ronald Knox, we've got what we needed. Now I give you 76 seconds to lift Grell Sutcliff back into the air duct."

"Okay, why 76 seconds?"

"76 is 76, quit asking." _Honestly, just add up the spare 13 seconds and the expected time he needs to leave the room, which is 1 minute and 3 seconds, and you'll get 76 seconds… What kind of computer wizard is this…_

But the problem arose when Grell was tying the rope around himself – an extremely small length was still needed for the rope to completely circle his waist. _Kid…_ _What did we teach you about being accurate?_ The redhead pulled the rope again, this time with more strength, but it was still not enough… Flown into a rage, Grell instantly switch his object of conversation to Ronald and lashed out the second he was put through, "Are you mocking my waistline, _Blond_?"

Ronald totally freaked out and almost dropped his laptop onto the floor when Grell's voice exploded in his ear, "Wait! I didn't mean it! So, so how much longer do you need?"

At the same time, William noticed this problem too. But when he was trying to connect with Ronald, he found that the line was engaged.

"Honestly, what do they think they are doing…" So William had to connect with Alan instead, "Alan Humphries, go to Room 316 and tell Ronald Knox to release 3.8 centimeters more of the rope. Right now!"

"Got it!" Alan quickly left Room 315 and ran into Ronald's room, "Ronald, William-senpai needs you to release 3.8 centimeters more!"

"What?" Ronald stared at him, completely amazed.

Alan urged, "What are you looking at? Just do it!"

However, Ronald pointed to his laptop and explained, "Already done it."

"How much longer?"

"Like you just said, 3.8 centimeters."

Alan realized the reason Ronald had that look on his face now, "So it was Grell-senpai's order?"

Ronald nodded, "You got it. He said it was _'a woman's instinct'_ so I decided to trust him for once… I just didn't expect it to be so accurate."

"Alright then." Alan sighed in relief before he asked William through the earphone, "Senpai, I just want to ask… How did you know exactly 3.8 centimeters more was needed?"

"It's just simple math." answered William, "Subtract the part that was not around Grell Sutcliff's waist from the full length. Then the difference between what was left and his waistline would be the answer."

"Is that so…" Alan responded slowly, realizing that there was no way he could be like William since… _How on earth can I possibly know the waistline of Grell-senpai?_

XXXXX

2011.1.13, 11:36pm, Cardiff, a certain hotel, Top Floor VIP Room.

Beast rose from bed wearing a shawl, and muttered on her way to the separate compartment, "Can't believe you're chattering on and on about wanting to check out my belt right after we've just finished having… Should I be suspecting that you're in fact an undercover agent from an animal welfare group or something?"

Sebastian, who was still lying in bed half-naked, sneered, "If you killed kitties to make that stupid belt, I would probably be who you think I am."

Beast grinned at the joke as she went inside compartment. She soon took out her belt from the security box and said, "Come and take a good look at this baby, 'cause you might not have a second chance."

Actually, Sebastian had no interest in the belt at all. Nevertheless, he could still see why these bloody products were appealing to some women… "I'm done. You can put it back now."

"So soon?" Beast was a bit surprised, "Don't you want to see me wearing it, Black?"

"No, thanks." Sebastian shook his head, "I'm already very content with the arrangements tonight…" So far, the belt seemed to be safe, or so Sebastian thought.

XXXXX

2011.1.14, 00:02am, Cardiff, a certain hotel, Rooftop.

William stood in the cold wind with his pruning pole in one hand and his mobile in the other. Just 3 minutes ago, he texted Alan: "Memory card full. Need a 16GB flash card now. –WTS"

"Honestly, what took them so long?" He slightly lifted his glasses with his death scythe, "I think I'm the only one who's still got work to do right now. I wonder what those four are doing at the moment…" Feeling a bit bored, he took out the digital camera in his pocket and quickly browsed the pictures he took earlier. "What a disgusting man, this Baron Kelvin… Taking advantage of the fame of Noah's Ark just to be able to have threeso…"

"Hello!" A voice suddenly came from behind, "Oh, crap, you're angry, aren't you?"

William instantly turned the camera off and found Ronald standing behind him.

"Trust me, I came as fast as possible." explained Ronald as he slowly walked toward William, "Or is it because you're disappointed to see _me_?"

"Not at all." answered William, "I was just having a strange feeling since _that thing_ has probably returned to his room by now. Anyway, good that he's not the one coming up here."

"Talking about Sutcliff-senpai," Ronald started searching in his pocket, "he took away the 16GB flash card just a few minutes ago, saying it was for special use. I mean, he looked pretty enthusiastic about it."

"Forget about him then. So you don't have the 16GB card now?"

"Nope. I've only got an 8GB card. Would this do?"

"Fine…" William accepted the card, frowning. As he put the new card into the camera, William began blaming a certain redhead who was not even present, "Honestly, he must have used the 16GB card to fulfill his nauseous desires… I've already made it very clear that putting too much emotion in work would only cause more and more trouble. I thought he had learnt his lesson, but…" He handed the full memory card to Ronald and ordered, "I want them all documented by morning. Remember to put the photos and videos in separate files. We're done after I've finished filming the second half of the night."

"Got it. Wait, so there're really _that_ many R-rated scenes to see here?"

"Quit asking about R-rated stuff, kid."

Stroking the chunk of hair on his forehead, Ronald exclaimed, "Is that so, senpai? Oh, now I know why you didn't put Sutcliff-senpai in charge of this job…" Before he could finish, he felt himself locked-on by William's freezing eyes. "Okay, okay, it's getting cold up here… I'm leaving."

Once again, William was left alone on the rooftop.

He turned the camera on again, "Honesty, despite his absolutely disgusting appearance, this Baron Kelvin sure is vigorous… It's been more than an hour already. I just want to know when I can knock off."

XXXXX

2011.1.14, 01:43am, Cardiff, a certain hotel, Top Floor VIP Room.

After putting the belt back, Sebastian and Beast, each with a glass of wine, chatted aimlessly. Time passed by slowly, but nothing seemed to have happened in the compartment - until the security alarm suddenly went off.

"Damn it. There's somebody in the room!" Beast put her glass away and rushed to the room. Sebastian followed closely.

When the two entered the compartment, no one was inside. All they could see was a vibrating mobile phone hung from the air duct.

Beast opened the security box - the belt was still inside.

Sebastian took the phone and answered it, "Hello?"

It was William on the other side of the phone, "So, the fake looked pretty real, right?"

As if just woken from a sticky dream, Sebastian immediately snatched the belt from Beast's hands. Looking closer, he found a strand of red hair winding on the belt. "I see… So the real thing was stolen long ago. The one I saw just now was already a fake, right? Well, this is absolutely amazing… Even the owner of belt was fooled. And this phone, if I'm not mistaken, must have been hiding inside the gaps of the air duct lid all this time. You only called to make the vibrating phone drop from above so as to hit the infrared rays and set off the alarm…"

"Than's ri…" Before William could finish, another voice intruded the conversation:

"SEBBY❤! Did you see the micro camera I put inside the buckle of the fake belt? Oh, I saw it… I really did… Half-naked Sebby is just so… Ah, my blood is boiling! How can I not make this high-quality video one of my deluxe collections?"

_BANG!_

"Idiot, that's enough! Honestly, taking away a 16GB flash card without permission for something like this…" After a series of chaos, William was back in control of the phone, "Now, don't trust anything that trash says. Your half-naked look is not attractive at all."

"Yeah, thanks…" Sebastian was having trouble figuring out whether it was still necessary to remain smiling, "I was planning to set you up with this belt. Turns out I was wrong about the whole thing. What a pity."

"Even if you are as sly as a demon, you're still no match for five 'Grim Reapers'. Don't waste your time anymore." Then, William hung up.

As Sebastian slowly moved the phone away from his ear, he filled his cold eyes with murderous rage. _So this is a challenge letter from "Grim Reapers" to… A demon? Fine. You people are not my target this time anyway. I trust that this stupid belt is not your concern either… Guess I'll just let you go this time. _Sebastian later squeezed the poor phone into pieces.

XXXXX

2011.1.14, 08:53am, Cardidd, a certain hotel, Top Floor VIP Room.

A sleepless Beast opened the door.

"Good morning." A bellboy was standing outside, "Your breakfast has arrived."

"Breakfast?" Beast blinked, looking puzzled, "But I didn't order any breakfast."

"It's okay. This meal is absolutely free." The smiling bellboy directly went inside and put a large plate on her dining table. "Enjoy your meal, and please call the front desk when you're finished.

Beast watched the bellboy leave, not knowing what had just happened. Still confused, she opened the dome lid on the plate - lying on the plate was not her breakfast, but the beloved belt she lost the night before. Forgetting she was barefoot, Beast ran onto the hallway to find that the bellboy had already disappeared. _Speaking of this pretty bellboy, isn't he the same person who opened the front door for them yesterday?_

XXXXX

2011.1.14, 08:58am, Cardiff, a certain hotel, Room 315.

"Alan," It was Eric on the other end of the phone. "Why aren't you out yet? We're gonna get caught."

"Just a minute, Eric-senpai!" answered Alan, "I haven't done folding my bellboy uniform yet!"

"Now you're being too considerate. Just take it off and run!"

"Okay, okay, I'm coming now!" Alan shut the door of Room 315 right after he finished his sentence.

XXXXX

A week later, suspected to be involved in child sex trafficking, Noah's Ark Entertainment Group was shut down to be investigated. Baron Kelvin was also arrested and charged with child rape.

Some said the fall of Noah's Ark was because one of its artists was tempted by an undercover agent. It was believed that the personal assistant of the queen's watchdog, Earl Phantomhive, was the ultimate informant.

However, some also said that all the disgusting acts of Baron Kelvin were documented and sent to the police by an anonymous party long before Earl Phantomhive had made any move.

In the end, there was no clear conclusion about who destroyed Noah's Ark. However, one thing was clear – the past of Noah's Ark was _judged_ by a sophisticated executive officer, and no one got away from the final judgment… This indescribable chillness felt just like the arrival of a true Grim Reaper.

XXXXX

*This scene resulted from me watching too much _"Entrapment"_. (Nice movie methinks.)

Coming up… _Chapter Three: File No. 051-? (Ship voyage arc)_


	6. Chapter 3 Part I

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Three

File No. 051-? ? ?

(I)

2011.2.15, 08:24am, London, Grim Reaper Garden Tools Ltd.

Eric, Alan and Ronald watched a certain redhead coming into the office wearing a pair of sunglasses. Right after Grell settled down on his own seat, the three gathered at a corner of the office.

"I can't believe Sutcliff-senpai came to work without make-up!"

"I don't think that's the case." Alan shook his head, "He would wear a mask as well if he didn't put on make-up."

"Could it be black eyes?" suggested Eric.

That was exactly when Ronald had his very own "Ah-ha!" moment, "I know now! Yesterday was Valentine' Day so Sutcliff-senpai was so excited that he satyed awake all night… Okay, this totally explains everything!"

"No, it doesn't." Eric slightly hit Ronald on the forehead with his knuckles, "Just look at how depressed he is! No way he was sleepless because of anything that, say, fulfilled his wishes… You know what I mean?"

"That's right." agreed Alan, "Just think about it. The five of us do our night shifts in turn, and Grell-senpai's shift comes every Monday. Valentine's Day this year is also a Monday…I remember seeing him ask for a shift change two weeks ago, and William-senpai accepted his request, which means Grell-senpai didn't have night shift yesterday."

Ronald nodded, "Okay, I think I know the answer. No night shift, but no Valentine delight, either… The only explanation would be – NO DATE!"

"Bingo!" Eric glimpsed at the other side of the office, "The three of us were free last night, so the only one left was William! He must have swap his own shift with Grell's just to avoid having to spend Valentine's Day with him!"

Alan's eyes widened as if expressing condolences to the victim of the conspiracy, "Well, that was kind of…evil."

"Honestly, who are you gossiping about during office hours?" The major subject of this secret discussion finally showed up in person. Walking past the desks with his pruning pole on his shoulder, the bespectacled man asked, "Or that you're chattering about some meaningless holidays?"

"Yeah, Valentine is just boring…" answered Eric, "All I did last night was grabbing some food with Alan."

"That's right." Alan nodded, "There weren't many things to do anyway."

"But I assume Ronald had lots of fun last night!" Eric turned to Ronald with a sinister smile on his face, "I saw you updating your wooing record on Twitter every 5 minutes."

Ronald only shrugged and placed his feet on the desk, "Don't mention it. They weren't _that_ good…"

At that moment, William poked the completely lost Grell with his death scythe.

Almost immediately, Grell jumped from his seat and seized William by his tie, "Will, you cold-blooded basta… You definitely did it on purpose! Definitely on purpose… Did you know that I spent the whole evening re-watching the _Saw_ series*, all the way from _Saw_ to _Saw 3D_, just to wait for you to send me a Valentine text?"

"He must be joking!" Ronald was nearly speechless when he heard what Grell had said, "No wonder he's got black eyes… All the way from _Saw_ to _Saw 3D_… God I want his DVD collection."

"Honestly… First of all," explained William, "'No texting during office hours' is clear stated in the company rules. Second, you were the one who begged for a shift change! Otherwise I wouldn't have to do overtime last night. Third, I don't see why I need to send you a Valentine text." He prodded the redhead back to his seat and turned to the other three, "Let's cut the useless chit-chats. We need to move on to our next mission." He then turned on the projector and pointed to the screen, "Listen up, people. This ocean liner, Campania, which will begin its maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York next week, will be our next destination."

"Campania?" Alan's stared at the picture in amazement, "I thought it had already sank in, say, 1918?"

Eric couldn't help but let out a laugh, "Wow, this ship sure looks more like a vacation spot."

William lightly nodded, and said, "That's why I think it's necessary to hold a meeting with you. After all, a luxury ship is filled with the rich and famous so I'm sure we can reap a great deal of profit without much effort. However, there's some else about this ship that interests me…" He skipped to the next slide, "_Aurora Society_, a medical society well-known among the upper-class, will use this ship as a stage to present their latest findings. They claimed that they had found the technique to…" A shade of disgust ran across William's face as he took out a brochure, "They've got really lame mottos, but I thought it would be better if you know what they are – 'Healthy body! Healthy teeth! Healthy spirit in a healthy body! Healthy weather! We can give you absolute health!' Okay, we're definitely not going to take this bullshit seriously, but I just thought it would be interestingly challenging if we can find out what these guys are up to. What do you think?"

"They can't call it a luxury ship if there aren't nice cocktail parties and buffets." Eric put up his hand, "No matter what we're going for, I'm in!"

Alan raised his hand after Eric, "The tickets are pretty costly, but I assume the money would go into the expense account so yeah, yes to the plan!"

"Definitely going!" Ronald waved his arms in the air, "Must hit the ballroom!"

"Ah, a luxury liner…" The dismay on Grell's face seemed to have disappeared before he suddenly jumped onto the chair and yelled, "How could such a wild and passionate maiden voyage ever be with the _Hunter of Love_?"

It was not yet Wednesday**, but William decided to give Grell a nice kick anyway.

XXXXX

2011.2.23, 10:47am, Liverpool, Campania, First-class Corridor.

"Honestly, although Alan Humphries ensured that the room plan was totally random…" William stared at the person next to him, "Why am I sharing the room with _you_? I mean, if it's totally random…"

"What are you talking about, Will?" Grell said as he wound himself around William's arm, "If you want me to leave you alone so bad, why not let Alan book five single rooms in the first place?"

"How many times do I need to explain this?" said William as he tried to shake Grell off, "Two double rooms and one single room is the optimal plan if we want to have relative freedom and adequate support from others at the same time."

"Anyway, I'm looking forward to living in a first-class double room with Will!"

"I've told you that this is a random arrangement. Plus, I don't see why you're so excited about a double room with two single beds… God I want to kick you to the third-class." Just then, William's phone rang.

"Head," It was Eric. "I just saw Ciel Phantomhive boarding the ship."

"For real?"

"For real. I saw him going through the VIP passage with Sebastian with my own eyes."

"Fine. By the way, did you see Ronald Knox? I couldn't reach him all morning."

"Oh, I saw him as well." answered Eric, "He even stopped to ask the way from the Phantomhive maid. I think he probably had a hangover, otherwise he couldn't have overslept."

"Got it. Bye." After hanging up, William muttered, "Honesty, they are coming to mess with us again…"

Hearing this, Grell instantly beamed, "Are you talking about Sebby?"

Without answering, William violently pulled Grell's hair and warned, "Don't you dare mention his name in front of me again!"

XXXXX

Despite the small fights on the way, William and Grell finally arrived at Room 444.

William opened the door, but immediately closed it.

"What's wrong?" asked Grell.

"I think it's the wrong room." William checked the room number again, "Impossible… This must be the room we booked, but…"

"It _is_ Room 444. What seems to be the problem?"

"Well, Alan Humphries told me that there are two single beds in the room. But what I just saw was a dou…" William suddenly realized who the true culprit was, so he quickly seized Grell by the throat with one hand while dialed Ronald's number with the other. As soon as he was put through, he could hear Ronald begging on the other end:

"Ah, senpai, I didn't mean it! Really! Sutcliff-senpai had his chainsaw on my neck when he forced me to hack into Alan-senpai's computer to change the booking…"

William hung up before the poor blond could finish and glared at the redhead beside him, "Do you have any idea what you're doing, Grell Sutcliff?"

"Well, if Will could trick me by switching our shifts… Ouch, it hurts…I could also give you a surprise by getting a double bed!"

"This is absolutely insane…" While scolding his partner, William let go of Grell and opened the door again, "Let me make myself clear: I will not share a bed with you!"

Yet Grell completely ignored him and jumped onto the bed as soon as he got into the room, exclaiming, "Please, Will, do whatever you want on –"

William had to dump the suitcase onto Grell's head in order to shut him up.

XXXXX

2011.2.23, 05:23pm, Campania, Third-class Restaurant.

"This is fantastic! British beer sure is nice! What do you think, son?"

"Ah, I agree, but…" Ronald answered the drunk man while trying to dodge his over-friendly groggy arms, "I think if you were drinking with your girlfriend, champagne would definitely be more elegant."

"Really?" A lass stopped beside Ronald's chair when she heard his words, "Your girlfriend is lucky to have you."

"Luckier if I actually have one."

"Oh? So you're still single?"

"Sure am. No girlfriend, but plenty of time!" Then, Ronald toasted, "To the freedom of bachelorhood!" After a few drinks, the blond glimpsed at his wristwatch and gasped, "Whoops, gotta run."

"Where to?"

Ronald put on his coat and smiled, "The game at the card room is about to start!"

"So you will be playing?"

"Me? Oh, I'm just feeling lucky today." answered Ronald as he began to warm up his fingers.

The lingering girl asked shyly, "Will I still be able to see you tomorrow?"

"Maybe…" Ronald replied as he waved goodbye, "If you still got the money to buy me a drink."

XXXXX

2011.2.23, 08:08pm, Campania, First-class, Room 444.

It had been 40 minutes since Grell entered the bathroom.

_I've got a bad feeling about this… _William thought to himself as he tapped his keyboard.

The door of the bathroom burst open as a shade of dim yellow light shone onto the laptop screen. That was when William heard the redhead shouting, "I'm ready DEATH!"

"Honestly," William didn't even want to turn around, "you couldn't _actually_ be wearing a dress, could you?"

"It would be a crime to not look as beautiful as I could if I am to be Will's partner."

"You're not even answering my question." William had had enough so he decided to turn around, "I've told you not to…" He stopped when he saw Grell's fabulous crimson night dress.

The red beauty didn't hesitate to send a wink to his companion.

In fact, it would've been better if he didn't do so because the wink actually brought William back to reality. Returning to his calm self, William said, "Well, since you're ready. I should get dressed too." He put away his laptop and rose from bed. "And, don't touch my stuff."

"Fine. I won't..." Seeing William walk past without any comment on the dress, Grell felt extremely discouraged. However, he was not going to stop trying. Somehow, revenge should take place. _Yeah, like I would actually leave your stuff alone…_

XXXXX

3 minutes later, William came out of the bathroom only to found two glasses of red wine in the mysterious candlelight.

"Will," Grell leaned closer and handed William a glass, "why not warm yourself up a bit?"

"Sure…" William adjusted his glasses, "But I want your glass instead."

Hearing this, Grell's inviting smile froze.

"You see, that's why I call you 'the hound without collar'… Things _always_ go wrong when I'm not watching you." When he finished, William took out a small sack of capsules from his pocket. "It was only vitamin C that you just put into the wine."

Realizing he was caught red-handed, Grell quickly put away the glass and wrapped his arms around William's waist, imploring, "I'm sorry, Will… I just wanted to, you know… With you…"

William instantly covered the redhead's mouth with one hand and unlocked himself from Grell's arms with the other. "Do you have any idea about what you were using? _'Let your lover enter the climax within the shortest…'_ I'm not going to continue reading the descriptions because this, this whole thing is absolutely gross! I can't believe you wanted to drug me. Now, how can I possibly drop my guard…"

"Hey, since you've already found out about this, Will, why don't we just hurry up and…"

"Not in a million years!" William pulled Grell by his hair and dragged him back to the bed, "I mean, you really have no idea how reckless you are. If I didn't switch the meds when you were changing, you could've got the better of me by now."

"But Will went through my stuff too…"

"Honestly, don't compare me to this hungry, sex-driven idiot who is now lying by my lap!" William lowered his head and stared at the helplessly dominated Grell. For a moment, he found Grell's red hair and red dress look pretty good he didn't say it out loud, instead, William hid his feelings by giving the redhead a cold warning, "Don't get yourself carried away, Grell Sutcliff."

"But this voyage is like once in a lifetime, Will! Can't you just say yes and… Ouch, don't pull, please… Okay, I'll shut up. I'll just shut up…" Grell lifted his head up in pain and tightly held William's arm, "Can we just drop this and have dinner now, Will?"

Sighing, William nodded, "Fine. Let's go."

XXXXX

* I have never watched the _Saw_ series. I only assumed it would be something Grell enjoys watching...

** This is a reference to William's first charater song _"Shinigami no Kintai Kanri"_ in which he says _"On Wednesday, I kick Grell Sutcliff."_


	7. Chapter 3 Part II

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Three

File No. 051-? ? ?

(II)

2011.2.23, 09:56pm, Campania, Second-class Pub.

Eric and Alan were chatting by the bar counter when Ronald showed up with a grin that was almost too wide for his face. He deliberately stood between his colleagues when he waved to a female bartender, "Hey, pretty, peppermint tea please!" He even winked at the girl.

"You just can't stop hitting on girls, can you, Ronald?" asked Alan.

"Well, I had no choice." Ronald stretched his arms as he replied, "The pretty girls in the third-class were all occupied so I had to come up to the second-class for some luck."

"Aren't you already living in the second-class?" Eric took a drink and asked, "What were you doing in third-class?"

That was the right question to hype Ronald up, "Oh, yeah, you guys have no idea… _NO IDEA!_ The folks down the third-class started playing cards around dawn, and it was simply impossible for me not to join the game! I kept playing for 4 hours straight and now my fingers are fatigued... You two can drink all you want tonight because everything will be on me!"

"That was unexpected, Ronald…" Eric pinched the blond's shoulder, "Seriously, _cheating_ for 4 hours and no one caught you?"

"You really don't know how to keep a low profile." said Alan. "Makes me wonder what William-senpai and Grell-senpai are doing in first-class."

XXXXX

2011.2.23, 10:11pm, Campania, First-class Restaurant.

William stood at the corner of the restaurant, sipping champagne. His eyes followed Grell as the redhead walked around the place, striking up conversations everywhere he went.

_Somehow, this was expected… _William thought to himself. _But that thing is actually wearing a dress… _2 hours had passed and William was still blaming himself for missing a heartbeat the moment Grell came out in that breathtaking evening dress. _Once you get used to this look, it wouldn't look that sharp anymore… _Feeling bored, William turned his face to the other side. That was when Grell came up, looking exceptionally satisfied.

"You are stuffy, Will." He remarked as he wound himself around William's arm, "Don't you want to have some fun here?"

"Honestly, I thought you were already having great fun. What do you need me for?"

"Well, if Will agrees to play with me, I would just ignore the other guys."

"You really think I have no idea about what you've been doing out there? According to my precise calculation, in the past 2 hours, you've picked 17 wallets and 9 mobile phones."

"Oh, so Will has been watching me _all along_…" Grell blushed in joy, "But I've put them back already. I mean, pickpocketing in first-class is so dull." He rested his head on William's shoulder, "All they've got in their wallets were credit cards. I barely saw any cash…"

"That's why you decided to pickpocket mobiles instead?"

"That's right. All I needed to do was access their bank account, transfer a small portion of money to our account, and done!"

"Well, there's a reason why I don't manage my money on the phone…"

"Just look at how rich these people are." Due to William's lack of resistance, Grell leaned closer and pressed his forehead against William's chin, "Why aren't you playing, Will?"

"Me?" William sneered, "I don't give myself away as easily as you do, if you know what I mean."

Grell trembled in excitement at William's answer. As he wrapped his arms around William's neck, he whispered, "You're lying, Will… I know you're aching for this."

William strongly felt that his bottom lines, both mental and physical, were being challenged by Grell and yes, it itched. So he freed himself from the redhead's arms and asked, "You really want to see me _give myself away_ so bad?"

"Oh, yeah…"

XXXXX

2011.2.23, 10:19pm, Campania, Second-class Pub.

Alan just received a text:

"Check our bank account, darling! –GS"

20 seconds later, Alan's eyes widened as he gasped, "Holy crap, we've just earned 26 thousand pounds for no reason!"

"Phew!" Eric blew out a smoking ring, "Grell and William sure are working hard!"

"I demand a raise!" exclaimed Ronald.

"No problem…" Alan nodded, but not paying much attention to him, "From the look of the figure, I assume William-senpai is still holding back."

"I agree." said Eric, "Otherwise we're getting a lot more than _this_."

"Just what do you two think you are doing here?" Ronald knocked on the table, looking a bit pissed off, "Eating and drinking and these lovers' chit-chats and you're _satisfied_? Shouldn't you two be contributing something too?"

Alan instantly retorted, "Ronald, Eric and I were only _chatting_, I mean, the general kind of chatting."

"Exactly. You're just angry for no reason, Ronald. It'd be a waste if we don't enjoy the best of this ship as much as we can. Plus, we've been putting bugs and cameras in the second-class all day long. I'm already having a backache so can you just quit blaming?"

"Stop making excuses for yourself already, Eric-senpai! All you know is to eat and drink. You don't even care about the atmosphere! And check out all these wonderful ladies around you! I can't believe you didn't even care to take a glimpse…"

"Well, they are neglectable."

"You can't be serious, Eric-senpai!" Ronald started to punch Eric's shoulder, "This is a place where you can get all the money and women you want and all you want to do is chat with Alan-senpai?"

"Are you drunk, Ronald?" Alan giggled.

"Of course I'm not! Can't you see I've been drinking peppermint tea all night long?" answered Ronald while trying to push Eric off his seat, "Even _I_ managed to make a profit in the third-class for 4 hours straight, there's no way you're not showing your true strength tonight. Or, you want to admit that you're just not as good as I am."

"Oh, don't make me laugh, kid." Eric finally decided to teach the blond a lesson, "Your _third-class_ cheats are only enough for you to earn some pocket money from _the third-class_. To me, your little filthy tricks aren't even worth mentioning."

"Okay, okay, I've heard it, Eric-senpai!" Ronald looked as if he was on flames, "So teach me a lesson!"

"No problem!" Eric slightly hit Ronald's arm and said, "Keep your eyes open and get a taste of your senpai's tricks. However, unlike you, Ronald, I keep a low profile. So I'll just be demonstrating some minor ones to you and will not test them on anyone else, alright?"

"Hey, that's not what you've promised, Eric-senpai –" Before Ronald could finish, Alan put a hand on his shoulder and suggested:

"Calm down, Ronald. Just listen to what Eric-senpai has to say for the time being."

"Fine, but it'd better be good!"

"Chill out, son. Since when did I lie to you? Okay, I'll be showing you something call 'Double Note Trick'* today." Eric reached out a hand to Ronald, "Could you please lend me two 100 pound notes for this demonstration? You've made a fortune down the third-class today. I trust that you've got a dozen of them in your wallet."

Ronald immediately handed in two notes, "Here's the money, and show me what you've got, Eric-senpai!"

With a sly grin across his face, Eric accepted the notes and directly put them in his pocket.

Ronald waited for a few more seconds, but Eric seemed to have stopped. "Okay, so where's this 'trick'?"

Alan couldn't help but burst into laughter, "Ronald, Eric-senpai has already done the trick… Can't you see it?"

Ronald blinked for a few seconds and _BINGO_.

Eric let out a laugh, "You're still new to this field, Ronald. How could you trust people so easily? The 200 pounds will count as your tuition fees, okay?"

"Wow, you're one evil con artist, senpai."

Just then, Alan answered a call, "Hello? Grell-senpai? Oh, yeah, the three of us are down here in second-class. Really? Sure, absolutely! We'll be there in a minute!" He hung up.

"What was it?" asked Eric.

"Grell-senpai wants us to go watch William-senpai… _Give himself away_?"

"Where to?"

"Casino."

XXXXX

2011.2.23, 10:31pm, Campania, Casino.

When the three reached the casino, Grell was already leaning on the second floor fence with a glass of red wine in his hand. Down where Grell was looking, William sat beside a gambling table, fully concentrated.

"It's Black Jack." whispered Alan.

Ronald stared at the table and said, "Wow, that's _a lot_ of chips."

Eric lowered his voice and told the other two, "You'll know how terrifying William is if you go check out the dealer's face! I mean, a poker face like William's is got to be every casino's nightmare."

"Ah, this is absolutely irresistible!" Grell rested his chin in his hands as he dreamily stared at William, "So concentrated, cold, merciless, sexy…"

"Why aren't you playing, Sutcliff-senpai?" asked Ronald, "If you two could 'cooperate', you could win the ship!"

Grell chuckled, "We aren't like you, rookie. Will doesn't need to cheat."

Alan said, "By the way, you _are_ wearing a dress, Grell-senpai!"

"Sure am." Grell gave a light pat on Alan's waist, "Why don't you try it some time?"

"Me?" While Alan was shocked by Grell's suggestion, the gang noticed some uproar down in the casino.

"Hey, look!" Ronald pointed below and said, "Spears-senpai is going the Show Hand table!"

"That's not the only reason people are unsettled," Eric moved Ronald's face to the other direction, "Look, _that man_ is here."

The four turned their eyes to the entrance as Sebastian Michaelis came in in a glittering tuxedo. His smile was charming and appealing, as always.

"Sebby?"

Ronald joked, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, the legendary shiny gigolo is finally here…"

"Why is he alone? Where's the kid?" asked Alan.

Eric answered, "The underage ain't permitted into the casino."

"I get it. So he comes to the casino and… Wait, he's walking to William-senpai's table." As soon as Alan finished, Sebastian had already sat down at the seat opposite to William.

"Alas, two bloody hot men are about to begin their deadly match! Oh, I can't even decide which side I should cheer for!"

"Don't be a traitor, Sutcliff-senpai." ranted Ronald.

XXXXX

William's poker face was in sharp contrast to Sebastian's inviting smile.

"Mr. William, nice to see you again. Mind playing a game of two with me?"

"Of course, I do." William glared at Sebastian, "However, I don't mind smashing you."

"Very well." Sebastian slowly flattened his lips, "Let's begin."

Under the eyes of scores, the game of two began in a peaceful yet pressurized atmosphere. Just when the dealer was giving them cards, the loud speaker in the cabin interrupted, "Ladies and gentlemen, _Aurora Society_ is about to begin their conference on the world's most advanced medical technology in the ballroom…" Before the announcement was even finished, people have already dropped their tasks and raced to the ballroom.

"Oops." Sebastian rose, looking a bit sorry, "I must apologize, but I really need to get going."

"You too? What a coincidence." William also left his seat, "Now, would you please excuse me."

"But the game has just started; I don't want to abandon it." Sebastian quickly wrote a cheque and handed it to the dealer, "Keep the table the way it is. Don't move anything until the two of us come back to finish the game."

William didn't give any comment as he walked past Sebastian with a face painted with disgust. As soon as he went out of Sebastian's sight, he turned on his very own mini microphone and sent out an order, "Get ready, Reapers. I want a 360 degree in-depth observation of the conference."

XXXXX

2011.2.23, 10:57pm, Campania, Ballroom.

There were still a few more minutes until the conference began, but the five "Grim Reapers" had already settled in different spots of the place. William stayed at the back of the floor, which was farthest from the show stand, whereas Grell stood on the stairs above.

William's phone rang. It was from Grell.

"Honestly," said William as he answered the phone, "it's going to start in a minute. Why are you still calling?"

"Well, it has not started yet… Don't tense up so easily, Will."

"What do you want?"

"Where are you, Will? I can't find you anywhere."

"I've told you I'll be at the back so quit looking for me, alright?" William glanced around to look for proper reference objects, "Well, if you really want to know my position so bad… I'm next to the marble at the very back of the floor."

"Really? Can you see me?"

"Of course I can find you thanks to that flamboyant dress of yours, idiot." William moved one step closer to the post and asked, "What about now? Found me yet?" The second William finished, his eyes were met with Grell's searching glances… Somehow, this was expected… At the same time, it was unexpected. For a moment, both of their hearts missed a beat.

It had been a while since they last stared into each other's eyes. When was the last time anyway? College? They've known each other too long to remember such minor details.

Grell had always believed that he was burning in the flames of love, but he could barely keep balance under that pair of cold and alluring pupils.

William, who was too used to being calm toward almost anything, also lost control of his heartbeat… Even if it lasted only a few seconds, it was enough for him to be back on alert. Quickly moving to the behind of the post, he ordered, "Now quit staring me like that when everyone else is looking at the stage! You're going to expose yourself!"

"Why, Will? Are you blushing❤?"

"Of course not! Now turn around. If you keep on looking at my way, I'll be exposed too!"

"Will, you know, you are not being so honest tonight…"

"Have you forgotten about your job?"

"Fine… I was only looking at you. Can't you be gentler to me?"

"Don't say I haven't warned you, but if you missed anything that would lead to our mission failing, you'd be suspended!" Then, William hung up.

After putting away his phone, Grell looked back at the marble post again, but William was already gone. "God you are so cold to me, Will… Not that it's not good but… Oh, well."

Just then, an announcer went onto the stage and the conference began. The five Reapers in five spots began exchanging their thoughts through mobile.

"RK 23:00:15

Chatroom opened. Just talk, ppl.

WTS 23:00:26

Watch out for eyes peeping at you when you're typing. And yes, I'm talking about a certain idiot in an extremely flamboyant red backless night dress.

ES 23:01:02

You can save a lot of words by just typing his name, head

RK 23:01:15

Plus, it lowers the risk of being peeped at

WTS 23:01:34

Honestly, you two are missing a period at the end of your sentences!

AH 23:01:40

Hey, they are demonstrating the technology now! I think I'm seeing an actual person lying on the bed…

GS 23:02:03

Clinical demo with a real man… Interesting.

RK 23:02:15

That guy looks like an octopus with all those pipes on him.

AH 23:02:29

I can see a monitor showing body temperature, heart rate and BP. I wonder what kind of meds they are using.

WTS 23:02:38

The meds are stored in the cold room of the ship. They're planning to sell them to NY so I assume there's a large amount of them.

RK 23:03:45

The cold room is tagged in the 3D perspective view of the ship. Check yah mailbox, ppl! :)

AH 23:04:04

Where's Eric-senpai? Why isn't he joining the conversation? :(

GS 23:04:18

OMG I just saw SEBBY❤!

RK 23:04:35

Hey, Eric-senpai hasn't spoken for a while.

WTS 23:04:59

I think I just saw the legendary Grim Reaper. Why is he here?

GS 23:05:17

U talking about that creepy guy who designs security boxes but never gets a haircut? = =||

WTS 23:05:48

Watch your mouth. He is a grand master who can sneak in and out of British Museum and Louvre without being noticed.

GS 23:06:04

U must be joking. He looks like a homeles

RK 23:06:10

Uh? Why did the sentence stop in the middle?

WTS 23:06:15

I just sent a picture of him to that idiot's phone.

GS 23:06:38

I TAKE BACK WHAT I'VE SAID! How come you never told me that you've got the picture of a hottie in your phone, Will? I hate you hate you hate you!

AH 23:06:57

Don't know if anyone noticed this, but Eric-senpai hasn't talked for a long time. I can't find him in the crowd and it's been 6 minutes!

RK 23:07:12

But he's still online.

WTS 23:07:25

His job is to get mixed with the crowd. So it's normal that you can't find him for the time being. No worries.

GS 23:07:34

It would be so much better if the kid isn't around Sebby.

WTS 23:07:56

Honestly, you're off-topic.

AH 23:08:14

I'm afraid he might have lost contact due to some accidents.

ES 23:08:27

Just saw Viscount Druitt and chatted with him for a while. I'm still alive so don't worry, Alan! ^_^！

AH 23:08:49

That's good. You really scared the hell out of me.

ES 23:09:01

There's nothing to worry about me. There's definitely more to worry about if you've gone missing, Alan.

AH 23:09:13

No, it's not!

WTS 23:09:32

Guys, you're all off-topic. And why is Viscount Druitt here?

ES 23:09:58

He's a member of Aurora Society.

GS 23:10:11

I remember he has a medical license.

RK 23:10:24

And plenty of sexy babies in his online albums too.

WTS 23:10:41

Once again, don't go off-topic when you're working!

GS 23:10:59

Okay, why can't I see anything special about their so-called technology?

RK 23:11:18

The guy in white coat looks kinda weird.

GS 23:11:27

Kinda hot too.

WTS 23:11:36

Off-topic, people.

ES 23:11:39

I wasn't paying much attention. So what's his name?

AH 23:11:45

Ryan Stoker, the founder of Aurora Society.

RK 23:12:00

Why are they putting the lights out? This ain't no magic performance… He's making it look like the revival of a corpse.

GS 23:12:17

If they're simply showing a picture, it could still be photoshopped. But this is live demo!

AH 23:12:39

Nothing wrong with the patient yet. Don't know how long this is going to last.

ES 23:12:55

I think that guy's just a conman.

RK 23:13:13

Wouldn't it be all clear if one of you guys went to get a sample of their meds?

WTS 23:13:45

Sure. Go ahead, Ronald Knox.

RK 23:13:49

WHAAAAAAAAAAAT*_*?

ES 23:13:55

You're pretty close to the fire exit, Ronald. Convenient.

GS 23:14:07

Just get moving, Blond. We are in the inner parts of the floor. Can't leave as quickly as you can.

AH 23:14:19

Ronald, you lawnmower is in the third fire hydrant cabinet to the right of the exit. You just need to pull real hard to get it out.

WTS 23:14:28

Move before someone sees you.

RK 23:14:43

TAT! You bullies! I shouldn't have become a 'Grim Reaper'!

ES 23:14:58

Yeah, so who was begging to join…

WTS 23:15:06

I assume not many people are outside in the corridors. You're going to be safe. Plus, we'll be on the lookout.

RK 23:15:19

OTL So you are all setting me up!

GS 23:15:25

Quit complaining and move before time runs out.

WTS 23:15:36

We'll contact you if anything unfavorable happens.

AH 23:15:53

We'll back you up. :)

ES 23:16:02

Good luck! I know you can do it!

RK 23:16:15

Hey, explain the cheerful air when you are pushing a poor scapegoat to the frontline!

WTS 23:16:38

When we're done with this, I'll give you a week of paid vacation.

_RK is now 'Away'._

GS 23:16:50

That was quick.

WTS 23:17:04

Finally got the kid working.

AH 23:17:26

The cold room is a 7-minute walk away. I suppose he'll get back to us pretty soon.

ES 23:17:36

Honestly speaking, he has never gone off on his own, has he?

WTS 23:18:04

Of course he has. He was always alone when it came to seducing girls... We barely ever interrupted.

AH 23:18:14

You need to believe in Ronald, Eric-senpai.

GS 23:18:21

That kid is a lot like me DEATH!

WTS 23:18:50

No need to feel good about yourself. If he screwed up, you'd be the one to cover his ass.

SM 23:19:00

It's was a nice chat, right? My Reaper friends…

GS 23:19:04

! ! ! ! !

_An error has occurred. Please refresh._"

That was when an intense seizure hit the patient as his heart rate and BP went sky-high. The harsh alarm of the monitors stirred up a huge panic among the audience. As the curtains fell, the lights also went back on. Ryan, who realized that he was in huge trouble, immediately escaped the floor through the smoke door, not knowing that he had already become the target of Ciel and Sebastian. However, for the four members of "Grim Reapers", there remained only one single thought in their minds when the name "SM" appeared: _You've gotta be okay, Ronald..._

XXXXX

* This trick comes from BBC drama _Hustle_, from which I came up with the idea of this fanfic._  
><em>


	8. Chapter 3 Part III

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Three

File No. 051-? ? ?

(III)

2011.2.23, 11:19pm, Campania, First-class to Second-class Escapeway.

Ciel ran down the stairs as he asked, "Sebastian, why did you give up the shortcut and head this way?"

"Sorry about the sudden change of route, young master." answered Sebastian, "But in this way, we can get _both_ of them."

The two arrived at the smoke door that led into the second-class corridor.

"I don't care what's going in your mind right now. All I care about is finding Ryan, so –" Ciel reached out for the door as he spoke, but the handle didn't move at all, "Damn it! It's stuck! Now what should we do?"

Sebastian frowned, "How about I bust the lock with a gun?"

Just then, a stranger's voice came from behind, "Yah gotta burst the thing open by brute force!" Following the loud roars of a lawnmower, Ronald Knox jumped down from the top of the stairs and _BANG _– a huge hole appeared on the smoke door. "Like _this_!" Ronald shook off the dust on his shoulders, "Yah just need to get the hang of it!"

"Excuse me…" Sebastian did expect some kind of encountering at this point, but the way Ronald showed up still gave him a good shock.

Yet Ronald acted as if the other two didn't exist, and only stared blankly at the empty corridor, "Damn, that weird guy is gone."

Ciel asked his subordinate, "Is he a member of…"

"That's right, young master. You should've known them pretty well by now."

"Grim Reapers?"

Hearing the name, Ronald turned around with a wide grin on his face, "Ah, from the look on your face, you must be the legendary 'Sebby'!"

"I must confess I'm terribly resisted being called that way, but I am Sebastian Michaelis from Funtom Corp. I believe you are…"

"Ronald Knox from Grim Reaper Garden Tools Ltd. I guess I need to thank you for taking care of my senpais!"

Sebastian returned a fake smile and asked, "Are you coming after the mysterious medicine from Aurora Society as well?"

Ronald yawned and smirked, "Looks like we've got a common goal. Hey, do consider joining us when you want a career change!"

"Don't waste time with this guy, Sebastian." ordered Ciel, "We need to find Ryan first! Let's go!"

"Got it." Sebastian had only moved one step forward when Ronald's mower flew above his head. The blades inside the machine growled with hunger, as if they wanted to swallow Sebastian alive.

"If my colleagues, especially the one who hates you more than anything else in the world, learnt that I let you slip away like this, I would definitely be punished." With his eyes half open, Ronald gave Sebastian a cold glare. "Even if this means doing overtime, I still need to make you disappear first!"

Ciel's patience was wearing thin so he decided to leave Sebastian there, "I'm going now. You'd better be quick when you've done playing!" He soon disappeared at the end of the corridor.

"As you wish!"

"What the…" Ronald shook his head while pushing his lawnmower onto Sebastian's face, "Kids these days…"

"You sure you want to look around at this moment, Mr. Ronald?"

"What?" Just when Ronald turned his face back to his opponent, his lawnmower was already kicked away. "That was close!" Ronald almost fell back when trying to avoid his nose being stomped by Sebastian's shoe.

Sebastian pulled out his gun.

"Sweet… Now you're really getting serious." There was no fear on Ronald face, "However, all the products of our company have passed the QA test!" The blond lifted up his lawnmower the second Sebastian pulled the trigger – _BANG_! Ronald and his death scythe were pushed several meters back by the impulsive force of the bullet, but the Reaper didn't lose his balance.

Sebastian sneered, "Impressive, I mean your death scythe… Still intact after bursting a door so thick and swallowing my bullet."

"Well, thanks for the compliment!" Then, the expression in Ronald's eyes changed.

A flurry of wind roared past Sebastian. When he realized it, Ronald and the lawnmower were already behind him. That was when Sebastian felt a sting on his face. _Did I see it right? Did that kid just ran on the wall with his lawnmower, like… _"Is this what you call 'teleport'?"

"It's close enough!" Ronald snickered, "This is actually called _'L'art du deplacement'_, or _'art of displacement'_ in English. You can call it 'parkour' if you have trouble remembering the name."

"Parkour? You mean the extreme sport that allows people to freely jump and climb in the modern metropolis, and ignores any sort of obstacles like lightness kung fu does? Again, impressive. I didn't expect you to be able to _walk_ on a vertical wall…" said Sebastian as he cover his injured face with one hand, "What's more, I didn't expect you to carry a knife with you. You sure are one wicked kid…"

"It was quite surprising, right?" Ronald flipped the weapon into the air, "That's why beliefs like 'Grim Reapers only use their death scythes' and 'computer wizards are just frail nerds' are kinda… How should I say…Old-fashioned?"

Staring at his bloodstained glove, Sebastian smiled faintly, "Really, kids these days…"

Ronald shrugged, "Don't look down to yourself! You're not _that_ bad."

"Why, thank you…" Neglecting the cut on his face, Sebastian dashed ahead and gave Ronald a powerful punch. Small drops of blood left the wound on his face and landed on Ronald's shoulder.

Ronald quickly dodged Sebastian's attack before taking a look at his watch, "Holy crap, time is running out! Okay, I'm not playing with you no more! Ah, this can't be… Can you believe that they gave me no more than 7 minutes to reach the destination? Well, I guess I'll have to write an apology for this. After all, we all need to do our job, right?" Ronald noticed that Sebastian was staring at him rather confusedly, so he put up a "Don't you know what I mean?" face and said, "I can clearly tell you that the guy you're after ran to the front of the ship. If you insist on chasing me to the cold room, which is located at the back of the ship, your boss might not have the patience."

"So you're not scared that I might chase after you right after I'm done with Ryan?"

"Wow, you've got a huge ego, Mister!" Ronald giggled as he tidied up the edges of his suit coat, "I might not be able to defeat you, but you ain't gonna get me, either." He tapped his forehead with his right index finger, "Yah know, I've already stored every escape route in this liner in my hard disk. So just give up already, okay?" Before Sebastian could answer, the blond had already turned around and ran off. However, Ronald soon turned around again and snapped his fingers, "Catch yah later, Sebby!"

"What the…" Sebastian felt so bitterly funny that he almost forgot the pain on his face. Well, _almost_. "Damn, my face… Well, since I've beat the hell out of that pervert, I think I'd just consider this a tie." At last, he closed his eyes and muttered decidedly, "But next time, I won't let you go so easily."

XXXXX

2011.2.23, 11:26pm, Campania, Cold Room.

The door of the cold room was a thick piece of steal so stubborn that was almost impossible to open. Well, _almost_. The ability to open any lock they encounter is one of the ABCs in becoming a true "Grim Reaper". Ronald could break locks alright, the only problem was – it was so damn cold! The cold room was big, but not very spacious due to the many locked cabinets and sealed boxes that filled the place. It didn't take very long for Ronald to find the boxes that belonged to Aurora Society so he quickly unsealed one with his bloodstained knife. Inside the box were small packs of colorless liquid. Ronald took one out and found the name of the medicine which was about 30 letters long. _Man, the guy who named this med must be a cold-blooded bastard. _Just when he was about to put the pack back, Ronald saw a different kind of med at the bottom of the box… "Uh? White powder?" He took a pack out and checked the name – it was the same as the liquid. "Okay, so which one should I take? Both?"

"If you take them away, you'd be arrested… Hehehe…"

Ronald immediately turned around – at the corner next to the steel door was a huge security box big enough to put a man inside - kind of like the sword boxes you see in a magic performance. Just then, the box cracked open and a green beam of light shot out from the inside, "Hehehe, do you want to stay in this narrow yet marvelous space with me?"

Ronald, who was already freezing to death, broke into a cold sweat, "When, when did you get in?"

"Me? I was here since the very beginning… Hehehe."

"Okay, from the queerness of your voice and the hobby of sleeping in a security box, I assume you are the legendary 'Grim Reaper'?"

"Hehehe, now I would not deny that."

"So what are you doing in this dark, cold place in the middle of the night, senpai?"

Undertaker slowly walked out of the security box and asked, "You wanna know?" He poked Ronald's chin with his long, long fingers, "Let's just play the game and give me a 'first-rate' laugh first!"

It only took less than a second for Ronald to get goose bumps all over his body, "Wait a sec, senpai." He moved back, feeling a bit embarrassed, "I've got jokes alright but they might not meet your requirements so can you just keep your eye's half-shut? _Please…_"

"No way."

"Oh, man…" _Fine, I can't see whether your eyes are shut anyway… _Having given up protesting, Ronald covered his face with his palms and started searching for jokes in his brain. "Ah! I've got one!" The chunk of hair on his forehead started swinging cheerfully. "Just listen real carefully, senpai… But don't tell this to anyone else, especially to the guy with pruning pole, okay? So once upon a time, there was this guy whose initials were written as W.T.S., which seemed pretty normal. But when you are chatting online, it's also the abbreviation for 'what the shit', right? Did you get it? Haha…" Ronald's pretend laughter was all there was left in the cold room. "Okay, I know this ain't funny at all…" He quickly wiped away the fake joy on his face, "Ain't funny at all…"

To Ronald's amazement, a series of sharp laughter instantly filled the room, "Hehehe… Although you are not as good as _that man_, it was a nice try. Now I'm more curious to see the expressions on that very guy's face when you tell the same joke to him… Hehehe." Undertaker kept sliding his fingers across Ronald's face, still laughing till he almost passed out. "Seriously, young man, wouldn't you rather know what on earth is in these boxes than ask for the reason I'm here?"

A bit confused, Ronald glimpsed at the boxes again, "Aren't these the meds Aurora Society is selling to the U.S.?

"Oh, I wouldn't say that." Undertaker took out a pack of powder from the box and asked, "Have you ever had a D.A.R.E.* class before?"

Ronald's eyes widened when he heard the name, "D.A.R.E.? You, you mean these are… This powder…"

Undertaker did not answer him, but poked a hole in the pack with his sharp fingernails and rubbed some powder on his tongue. Then he said, "Well, this is indeed diacetylmorphine. Maybe I should use a more common name – heroin."

"I get it! The conference was only a cover. What Aurora Society really wants to do is to smuggle drugs to America! This totally explains why Ryan ran to the front of the boat. He must have feared that people would find out about the drugs he put here. Too bad we've come only for the drugs so his nasty little trick can't fool us!" Overjoyed, Ronald quickly dialed William's number, "Hey, senpai, I've got _biiiiiiiig_ news for yah!"

William didn't sound surprised at all, "Drug trafficking, right?"

"Wait, how did you know?"

"Well, after all, I'm your senpai. _Yeah, this is the room._"

Ronald was kind of lost, "What did you just say?"

"Oh, I wasn't talking to you… _Go ahead and open the door, quick._"

"Okay, so are you with Sutcliff-sen…"

The rest of the blond's sentence was cut off as William snapped, "Ronald Knox! How could you possibly let Sebastian Michaelis hack into our chatroom! You're definitely getting a pay cut!"

"He really did that? No wonder he deliberately chose the farther way to meet with me… I should've known that I was exposed!"

"So you did see him?"

"Yep. He went after Ryan in the end so he didn't follow me to the cold room. I mean, this legendary 'Sebby' is really a tough guy. He did not only almost win a fight against me with bare hands, but also survived my lawnmower-knife dual attack! By the way, I don't think he knows about the drugs."

"Good. We're currently in Ryan Stoker's room… _Yeah, take the laptop, and the suitcase…_ We're gathering evidence at the moment. Didn't expect you to get the answer so quickly. Nice job."

"Oh, that was because I saw Under…" Ronald turned around, only to find that he was the only one left in the room. "Uh?"

William seemed to have expected this as well, "So it was him after all."

"Wait, senpai, I thought he was only a security box designer. How come he knows so much?"

"Because he is also a 'Grim Reaper'." answered William, "The whole designing security box thing was only a cover, just like us selling garden tools." He paused for a moment and continued, "I need you to go through all the boxes from Aurora Society and collect a sample of each type of drug they've got."

"Hey, this is impossible! You know I hate overtime work, senpai. Plus, you have no idea how many boxes they stored here and I'm all by myself!"

"Honestly, I'll find someone to assist you. Anyway, just be quick so retreat won't be delayed."

Totally stimulated by the word "retreat", Ronald asked, "So, so when are we retreating?"

"Midnight, stern deck."

XXXXX

2011.2.23, 11:33pm, Campania, Cold Room.

While unsealing boxes, Ronald played with his phone, murmuring, "Told you that you wouldn't have the money to buy me a drink… So this is all you've got in your credit card, _Sophie Smith_? Man, I shouldn't have hung around the third-class. Credit card like this one is just so not enough." He took a quick glance at his watch, "How annoying, can't they see I'm already _this_ busy? I bet Spears-senpai wasn't even thinking. I mean, how could two people possibly complete this task before midnight? Not to mention the second person hasn't even arrived…"

That was when someone suddenly kicked the steel door open, "Alas, don't be so rude❤!"

Ronald turned around in astonishment.

"After all, this is a maiden voyage. She's gonna break if you go on being so brutish!" Grell spoke as he took out his chainsaw and swept down a row of cabinets – the noise of smashing and shattering shook the room. "Oh, this violent first night… EVERYTHING is broken into pieces…" Another row of cabinets fell. "Can't stop! Can't go back! Can't regret!" Finally, Grell stomped on the top of Ronald's lawnmower and shouted, "Alas, isn't this a big guilt trip of DEATH!"

Ronald hastily pulled his death scythe back, "Yeah, now who's the brutish one…"

However, since all the locks were cracked, it did make sampling easier. _Okay, maybe this assistance isn't so bad after all._

XXXXX

2011.2.23, 11:53pm, Campania, Motorboat Anchorage.

Standing next to Viscount Druitt's motorboat, _Culver_, Alan asked, "Eric-senpai, you sure this is alright?"

"What seems to be the problem, Alan?" Eric was already in the boat.

"I mean, you sure it's alright that we drive the Viscount's motorboat away _just like that_?"

Eric laughed, "I'm sure he wouldn't mind. After all, we're not taking his precious _Robin _away."

"You sure are calm, Eric-senpai."

Eric lifted his head up and stared into Alan's eyes, "You feeling guilty, Alan?"

Alan shrugged.

"You can't be! No wonder William kept you away from all the _excitations _of this job… I never thought your moral bottom lines could be so..."

"That's not what I meant, senpai…" Alan jumped into the boat as he retorted, "I was only confused about the fact that I am the only who is _actually_ confused!"

"Oh, that's because you're too sentimental, Alan." Eric patted on Alan's back, "Just forget about it already."

Alan nodded with a bitter smile on his face as he cut off the boat line with his death scythe, "You're right. I could be worrying too much. I shouldn't have pulled your legs. Sorry."

"Nah, you don't have to be sorry about this. I'm just glad you are with us." After lighting a cigar, Eric turned the steering wheel. So _Culver_, with its owner completely lost in the luxury and dissipation of _Campania_, went into the Atlantic ocean from the inside of the ship by people who claimed to be "Grim Reapers".

XXXXX

*D.A.R.E. stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. I had my DARE class in a Texas elementary school and the instructor was a very nice man. :)


	9. Chapter 3 Part IV

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Three

File No. 051-? ? ?

(IV)

2011.2.23, 11:59pm, Campania, Stern Deck.

"Ronald Knox is knocking off on time!" Following a series of enthusiastic shouts, Ronald jumped all the way from the deck down into the boat with his lawnmower. "Sweet, I didn't know we can leave on a spacious motorboat! I thought a life boat was the best you could get!"

Eric scolded, "You'd better clean up all that bias you have against me right now, young man!"

"Ronald, are you injured?" asked Alan, concerned.

"Uh?" Ronald looked at himself for a while and answered, "I'm perfectly fine. Why ask?"

Alan pointed to his shoulder, "Is this your blood?"

"Oh, you mean _this_… No, it's not mine." Ronald answered as he took out his bloodstained knife, "All I did was scratching _the part_ a certain pimp needs to make a living…"

"Pimp… Make a living…" Eric's eyes suddenly changed, "Oh, my god, did you cut his pe…"

"Eh? Eric-senpai, you got it the wrong way round!" Ronald covered Eric's mouth before the latter could say anything, "All I did was cut his face… _JUST FACE_!"

Alan sighed in relief, "God, you really scared the hell out of me, Ronald. By the way, William-senpai told me that he had all the evidence needed to prove Aurora Society was involved in drug trafficking. So I guess we've done a good thing after all."

"You are right about this, Alan, but…" said Eric as he blew a smoke ring into the air, "I thought we were supposed to be _committing_ crimes, not _fighting_ them. I have the feeling that we're being very professional. Oh, well…"

Just then, Ronald asked, "Hey, why hasn't Sutcliff-senpai jumped down yet?"

XXXXX

Grell stood at the edge of the deck. The motorboat was right below him, but he had no intention of jumping down, because...

He could feel two people approaching.

He heard someone pulling the trigger.

He believed he was their target.

Instinct told him that the bullet would shoot right through his body even if he managed to jump down right now.

But if he didn't jump, he would definitely be killed.

_God, if they were late for a second, I would've got into the boat already… Plus, aren't they supposed to be chasing after Stoker? How did they even managed to get here so fast? Could this be... A trap? Damn, they set us up. I should've jumped down before Ronald so I don't have to be the one standing here waiting to be executed. Wait, I'm after all his senior. I shouldn't be thinking about leaving that poor kid behind for my own good, should I?_

However, he couldn't alert his colleagues, because he feared they might hear a gunshot before they hear his voice.

_But it's no use standing here, right? The enemies would not wait for me to make a decision._

"Sebastian, end him."

"As you wish."

_So this is it? This is the end of me?_

_BANG! –_Sebastian fired.

_DANG!_ –Somehow, it sounded like the bullet hit something made of metal…

_Wait…_

Due to the explosive gunshot from behind, Grell lost his balance. Yet before he fell off the deck, a hand caught him…

"Idiot, I told you to support Ronald, not to wait to be supported!"

"Will?" Grell turned around and quickly held William's arm. His red hair was everywhere in the evening wind.

William tried to move all the redness away, "Honestly, quit swinging your hair… It's blocking my sight."

"Wait, the shot just now was…"

"Can't you tell? I mean, if I didn't show up at the right moment, you'd either be dead or held as a hostage."

While listening, Grell finally had a chance to take a look at his enemies - Sebastian and Ciel were both aiming at them.

"It wasn't easy, was it? Either for you or for us…" There was still blood on Sebastian's face.

"Seb, Sebby… Your face…"

"Yeah, please say thank you to that _great_ _kid_ for me." sneered Sebastian, "I mean, he knew exactly where to cut, didn't he?"

"Cut the crap, Sebastian!" shouted Ciel, "Why bother worrying about your damn face when you are not a pimp?" The young boy rested his finger on the trigger, "Now, I wish you two could cooperate and hand in the evidence you collected from Stoker's room. If you dare say no, I'd just blow your brains out!"

William said calmly, "Well, from the look of this situation, you just set us up, didn't you?"

"Yep, this is one of the advantages of knowing the most influential drug trafficker in China Town." Ciel smiled with scorn, "Basically, we _came_ for the drugs. Although I never expected you to be here, I'll make good use of this coincidence."

It was a time when William had lost all the vigor in his eyes, so was his voice, "That was certainly a flawless plan. I admit I never expected things to turn out this way… However, do you have enough evidence to arrest us?" His phone rang right after he had done talking. William answered the call as if nothing had happened. It was Eric.

"Hey, I just heard a gunshot. Are you on the deck?"

"Drive the boat away, immediately." William ordered, "Just forget about us."

"Are you crazy? How do you leave the ship without coming down onto the boat?"

"I've told you to drive the boat away! We'll figure out a way to leave this place."

"No way!" retorted Eric, "If we just left like this, you two would…"

"Who's in charge right now, Eric Slingby? Let me make myself clear... If you don't drive the boat away right now, all of our efforts would be wasted, and you three might get caught as well. But if you can get out of this place quickly, I promise… Grell Sutcliff and I will not die on this ship!" He hung up.

As soon as William put his phone back into his pocket, he found Grell's hand inside his other palm. Without resisting, William turned to him and asked, "What, are you scared?"

"Of course not❤!" Grell answered with a toothy grin, "I was only… No, I'm just too excited, Will."

"Good." William unconsciously held Grell's hand more tightly.

"Evidence to arrest you?" The corner of Sebastian's lips slightly twisted as he confessed, "Actual evidence, probably not. However, Mr. Grell, a dozen witnesses from first-class could prove that a transvestite in red had accessed their bank account without authorization. If you were unwilling to surrender, I wouldn't mind ending the two of you right here. Hey, dying in the sea with your partner, sounds like a romantic idea, doesn't it?"

"Enough!" William finally lashed out as he drew a small remote control from his sleeve, "If you dare talk like that again, I might want to add you on the death list together with us."

Ciel was shocked, "Sebastian, is that the remote control of a bomb or something?"

"It wasn't easy to break into Ryan Stoker's room," explained William, "so we decided to leave a return gift to make this journey worthwhile. Plus…" He pointed to the window of a room right above the deck, "his room was closest to this deck."

Sebastian smiled bitterly, "So you're not so easy to end after all… You've just put the lives of all the passengers in the ship in our hands, right? Great, this is so relaxing…"

"What do we do now, Sebastian?" asked Ciel.

"Don't worry, young master." Wiping away the blood from his face, he answered, "I've signed a contract and I live on the job you gave me, so I would definitely follow your orders."

"Good. Now, Sebastian, I want you to get that remote control and arrest them!"

"Yes, my Lord." Sebastian aimed at William, "Now, I don't care whether you have actually thrown a bomb in that room, but this is your last chance – surrender now or prepare to… No, you don't stand a chance if you decided to fight against so –"

Just a few seconds ago, William heard the motorboat going away. From then on they were truly trapped in a place where they had nowhere else to go. To run or to surrender became the vital question for William and Grell. Or did it?

"Honestly, this is not even a question." William turned his face to Grell, "What do you think, Grell Sutcliff?"

"Well, I guess you are right." Grell smiled and answered, "I don't feel confused at all."

"So… Let's tie your hair up first."

"Why?"

"Just do it. And…" William put the remote control into Grell's hand, "I'm going to count from 5 to 1. When I get to 1, just press the button and we'll just…" He left the last few words in a whisper.

Grell was completely shocked when he heard the end of the sentence, "Wait, from here?"

"Scared?"

"No, of course not… Like I've said, I am just too excited…"

"Good. Five."

Ciel was fed up with the secret conversation between the two "Reapers" so he asked his subordinate, "Why are you still waiting, Sebastian?"

"Four."

"Young master, for your safety, let's just wait till they've made up their mind. Don't worry. There's no way they could live if the bomb went off. Everything's under control."

"Three."

"You'd better be right about this, Sebastian."

"Two."

"Everything will be just fine, young master."

"One."

Within seconds, the tip of William's death scythe was only a few millimeters away from Sebastian's eyes.

_BANG! _Ciel fired a bullet but it was uncertain whether it had hit the target. Before he knew it, the stern deck was drowned in the debris of Ryan Stoker's room after a huge blast boomed from behind. Mysterious smoke soon filled the air.

Everything happened so quickly that Sebastian was unable to tell whether the pruning pole had disappeared before the smoke approached.

_Why does the smoke smell like tear gas?_

Then he heard Ciel's angry coughs beside him, "Damn, this isn't a bomb at all! It's just tear gas! Tear gas! What the hell… Sebastian… Go get them… Quickly!"

And so Sebastian tentatively fired a gunshot into the smoke.

_SPLASH!_

Sebastian thought he heard a weird noise so he walked to the edge of the deck to check whether he had shot his target. Yet all there was left was the dark, dark sea. William and Grell, like the first time they escaped from Funtom Corp., disappeared from the most impossible place without a trace. "Wait, that splash was… Could it be…" As Sebastian stared at the pitch-black sea, he found a newly formed whirlpool from not far away which interrupted the normal heave of waves. "No way… It's the middle of the sea, and they just _jumped_?"


	10. Chapter 3 Part V

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Three

File No. 051-? ? ?

(V)

2011.2.24, 00:17am, somewhere in the middle of the sea.

The pair came up to the surface.

"Phew, that was AWESOME!"

"Honestly, I didn't expect to be forced into the sea like this…" That was when William realized that his arms were wrapped around Grell's shoulder. He immediately released the redhead from his half-embrace.

Grell giggled, "Why did you hold me in your arms like that, Will? You know my heart would beat like crazy when you are so abrupt…"

William lightly punched Grell's forehead and snapped, "What is going on in that filthy mind of yours? I mean, your hair was everywhere and I could barely see anything other than RED! I have to keep you, no, your hair out of their sight, otherwise they can easily spot us with a searchlight."

"But I almost died of asphyxiation, Will…"

"Oh, c'mon! Who was that idiot who claimed that he could hold his breath, like, _forever_?"

"Now you're just trying to change the topic, Will."

Although neither admitted, they knew just how exhausted they both were. As Campania slowly vanished out of their sight, it was time to get back to shore.

"The Guinness record of the distance swum in 24 hours nonstop is 101 kilometers. I think we are now somewhere between Scotland and Northern Ireland… The nearest shore shouldn't be very far away. Anyway, let's go."

"Eh? _Go_?"

"Fine, I meant _swim_."

"Are you serious, Will? This is the middle of nowhere. Aren't you afraid of sharks?"

"Sharks? Of course not. They might even consider you a distant relative after they've seen your teeth…"

"Not funny, Will."

"I wasn't even trying to be funny. Honestly, we don't have another choice, Grell Sutcliff. It's the only way."

"Wait, so you mean the two of us getting wet and paddling like lovebirds…" Strange (and erotic) ideas started popping into Grell's brain before William snapped him again:

"Lovebirds don't paddle and we are wet already, whether we swim or not… Never mind, let's save some energy and head to the northeast. I think we can reach the shore of Scotland before dawn."

Neither spoke again after that. Grell knew William was not the joking type. Even if they had enough strength to get to the destination, they couldn't afford wasting even a little bit of their energy on talking. Daybreak was only a few hours away and they didn't have much time left before they reached their limits. In the next few hours, they would no longer talk to each other. All they would do was to move toward the same direction, and at the time, make sure the other one was still alive.

XXXXX

2011.2.24, 06:31am, Scotland, High Keil, beach along Road B842.

The pair lied on their stomach, like two corpses.

It was unclear how long they had remained this way before William finally asked, "Dead yet?"

Grell turned his face to his partner and answered, "Oh, how can I be after a fierce evening with you?"

Too bad William still had the strength to pull his hair, "Couldn't you just use some ordinary expressions?"

Grell only smirked and started to play with William's wet bangs, "Hey, your hair just returned to the uni-year style, Will❤!"

William immediately took out his pruning pole and warned, "Want your hair back to the uni-year style as well?"

Threatening only got Grell more excited, "Oh, you wouldn't do that, Will… You wouldn't do that to me…" The tip of his nose touched William's as he crawled closer. They could smell the Atlantic in their exchanging breaths. "Oh, doing something so insane with Will is just… Unbelievably exciting… Will, I really, really love…" He pecked William's face before the last word could escape from his lips.

William quickly retreated and got up, "You should really learn when to stop, Grell Sutcliff."

_God he's still so cold… _Sometimes, Grell just wished that man could go out of control. However, no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't shake this rationalist at all.

"Looks like you've got plenty of energy." said William as he dragged Grell out of the beach, "Let's go back, then."

Grell rested his head on William's shoulder, "Back? Where?"

He was right. They needed to figure out how to meet the other three first.

William looked around and soon realized that they weren't given much of a choice apart from Road B842. "Well, I guess we should call them first."

"Sure…" Grell paused for a second before he announced, "Will, my phone just ran out of battery."

"Honestly, what kind of power-consuming functions do you have in your phone? Use mine."

A few seconds later, Grell muttered, "No signal, Will."

"Guess we'll need to move first." William took off his glasses and carefully wiped away the spots on it under the dim morning light. He did have a waterproof pocket in his suit coat, otherwise he couldn't have kept his phone intact. Yet he still regretted that he forgot to bring a piece of cleaning cloth. "I believe this is High Keil and we can get to Campbeltown by heading northeast along this road. As long as we get to the town, things would be much simpler."

Grell could barely nod, "Don't you think it's so far away, Will…? Do we have to walk?"

That was another problem. Neither of them had the strength to participate in trekking of any intensity anymore.

Yet William didn't seem to be so worried, "I can see a couple of houses ahead. We'll find a way to tackle this problem."

XXXXX

The truth is, parking your motorcycle outside your house could be risky.

Three minutes after they spotted the motorbike, William handed Grell a helmet, "Put it on and write down their address. We'll buy them a new motorcycle as soon as we return to London. Also, tell them they can purchase our products at a 50% discount." After that, he took off his suit coat and tied it around Grell's shoulder, "Put this on and we're off."

XXXXX

There was a time in Grell Sutcliff's life when he dreamt about racing down an endless road on the edge of the world with his Prince Charming. For a long time it remained a wild maiden fantasy in his heart because that inexpressive man never returned his feelings. Yet on that day, his dream seemed to have come true… That man did not do this on purpose, nor did the scene fit Grell's original ideas, but with his arms around William's waist, racing on a motorbike down a road between mountains and the sea at sunrise… Just what more could he ask for?

Grell had the coat on his shoulders, but knotted the sleeves around William's neck, "Okay, so now we are more intimate with each other❤!"

"Do you want to strangle me, Grell Sutcliff?"

"Of course not! You wouldn't feel a thing as long as I don't lean back…" And so Grell pressed his face against William's back and murmured dreamily, "You know, it just feels so good eloping with Will…"

"Who on earth would elope with you in broad daylight? Do call them again and see if you can reach them now."

"Hold on a sec." With one hand on William's waist, Grell put the phone above his head and shouted, "Look this way, Will!"

Without questioning what the redhead was up to, William looked up and –

_CLICK!_

"Yes! I've finally captured the affectionate moment of us running away, Will!"

"Idiot, just when did I allow you to take pictures with my phone! Want me to kick you back into the sea now?"

"Calm down, Will. I'm calling right now…" A few seconds later, he succeeded. "Hello? This is Grell Sutcliff!"

Eric, who was on the other side of the phone, almost screamed at him, "You are finally calling! We've been waiting for 6 long hours! We didn't call because we were afraid that it might distract you… Anyway, I'm just glad you two are okay."

Before Grell could say anything, William slightly leaned back and moved his mouth closer to the phone in Grell's hand, "I told you we'd come back alive, Eric Slingby." But he was a bit too close to Grell's mouth and accidentally let the redhead steal a kiss from his demure lips.

_BANG!_

Grell's helmet was askew after a furious hit by William's.

"Keep your helmet in place, idiot…"

Unaware of the drama going on between his two colleagues, Eric went on asking, "I wonder what took you so long… Were you guys on a lifeboat or something?"

"Lifeboat…" muttered William.

"We didn't have a lifeboat, Eric." answered Grell, "We just swam –"

"WHAT?" Eric's shouts were even louder than the engine, "Are you nuts? You SWAM?"

"Well, since both of us are still alive, I guess it was not a bad choice."

"Whose idea was it?"

"Eh… I think it was Will."

"He did learn _that_ from you, Grell."

William heard them talking behind his back so he interrupted, "Honestly, tell Eric Slingby I can hear exactly what he was saying!"

"Right… Let's just drop this, Eric. We are now heading to Campbeltown on Road B842. Where are you now?"

"Good, we've just got ourselves a car 15 minutes ago and are now heading to Campbeltown as well. Turn left here, Ronald. Hey, let's just meet outside Campbeltown Hospital."

"Okay. Just so you know, we are riding a motorbike."

"Yeah, right, like I can't recognize you, Grell."

"Well, see yah later!" Grell hung up and whispered to William's ear, "Will, we're meeting outside Campbeltown Hospital."

"I know… And there's no need for you to lean this close to talk to me. I can hear just fine."

Grell couldn't help but smile. Eric was right. You needed to be neurotic enough to come up with an idea like "let's just jump into the sea". William did have a genuine rational mind, but that did not keep him from making unexpected moves. Plus, compared to the whole "you jump, I jump" thing, Grell enjoyed the way William held him in his arms more. That precious feeling of suffocation could trigger a spasm of euphoria in Grell's heart every time he thought about it.

"We're almost there, Grell Sutcliff. Hold on tight!"

"Sure..." Resigned, he wrapped his arms around William's waist more tightly.

As the sun gradually rose from the horizon, the motorbike accelerated on Road B842. In the wind, Grell's hair flew about like burning flames. Under the light and heat of the morning sun, the whole motorcycle seemed to be on fire…

2011.2.24, 07:49am, Scotland, Campbeltown, Campbeltown Hospital.

Ronald, whose drowsy head rolled on the steering wheel, was woken by a flashy shade of red that flew past his sight. "Hey, it's Sutcliff-senpai!"

Alan, who was napping in the passenger seat, also woke up and lowered the car window, "It's their motor –" He paused, realizing "their" was not a very accurate possessive pronoun to use. "Oh, I meant the motorbike they _rode_ here… We just can't stop stealing things, can we? From the Viscount Druitt's boat, this car, to that motorbike…" He stopped when William parked the motorbike outside the hospital.

When William told the one behind him to get off, he didn't hear a reply. When he turned around, he found the redhead resting on his back, asleep. William himself was more than just exhausted, but it was a tense night after all and falling asleep at the wrong time was totally understandable. After a few seconds of hesitation, William took off Grell's helmet and under the eyes of his three sober colleagues, carried the redhead on his back and walked toward the car.

Eric poked a finger into the car door handle while staring at William and Grell. After quite a few unsuccessful attempts to open the door, Eric realized something and scolded, "Hey, quit looking at them and unlock the car door, Ronald."

"Well, weren't you looking as well, Eric-senpai?" giggled Alan.

At last, the five reunited in a stolen vehicle.

In high spirits, Ronald stepped on the accelerator, "It everybody here? Then we're heading back to London! Wow, wow, wow!"

William instantly kicked the blond's seat from behind, "Just shut up already…"

Eric nodded in agreement, "He's all stimulated now, you know."

Alan said, "Only an all-nighter like Ronald could be stimulated so quickly…"

Apart from the energetic driver, William was more annoyed by the one next to him, "Honestly, why is this thing still falling on my shoulder even after I've buckled him up?" He soon gave up resisting and lent his shoulder to Grell. "I wonder if I could still feel my shoulder when we get back." Muttering, he took out his phone and found a new annoyance – "Damn, he changed my wallpaper…"

"Really? What picture were you using?" asked Eric.

"The default one."

"You sure are stuffy, head."

"Honestly, even if the previous one was boring, he didn't have to use _this_ pic…"

"Which pic?" Eric leaned closer in curiosity.

William quickly shut his phone and replied coldly, "No peeking."

"Fine, but you don't have to tense up like that…" Eric drew a cigarette from his pocket.

Alan alertly turned around and said, "Don't smoke in the car, Eric-senpai. And, buckle up."

"I know, I know… Man, stop lecturing me like William does."

Though a bit offended by Eric's comments, William didn't retort. After all, he was exhausted… Too exhausted to even delete that "affectionate runaway pic" which took over his mobile screen.

XXXXX

Author's note: I know the whole "swim back to shore" thingy was insane but since the story itself is insane too, I'd just let it be. :D Hope you like it!

Coming up… _Chapter Four: File No. 666-4242 (The Most Beautiful DEATH in the World)_


	11. Chapter 4 Part I

**A/N: Well, a reader told me that she had problems with me using lines from the musical. However, all I can do is telling her to read the A/N (in Chapter I Part I). I apologize if my fanfic does not meet your needs and I'll try to do better next time (if there is a next time). :)**

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Four

File No. 666-4242

(I)

2011.4.22, 08:29am, London, Grim Reaper Garden Tools Ltd.

Eric yawned as he entered the office, "God I'm sleepy."

"Hung out somewhere again last night, Eric-senpai?" asked Alan.

"Of course not… I'm busier than you can imagine."

"Well, you should behave since you are a senior."

"I know…"

"Otherwise you can't set a good example."

"Okay, Alan, we've got only 5 people here and only you and Ronald consider me as a senior. You know how to be good and Ronald knows how to be bad, even without my _guidance_. Therefore, I'm not worried about being a bad example at all. It is you, on the other hand, who's been picking holes in my lifestyle all morning."

While Alan and Eric were bickering, Ronald found himself in a more unfavorable situation.

"Ronald Knox!" William looked extremely unhappy from the moment he saw the blond, "There's a problem with the purchase orders from Glasgow."

"Okay, I know! I'll go check right now! Hell, I just can't do paperwork." sighed Ronald.

"Also, today is the deadline for your first quarter report. You'd better explain why the sales of lawnmowers have been declining…"

Ronald gasped, "Give me a break, senpai! It was all because of that _ad_! I mean, who gives away free lawnmowers whenever someone buys a pruning pole? The concept itself is like putting the cart before the horse! How can I possible increase the sales of mowers when they've all become free gifts… Also, I've got an appointment with some girls at the pub tonight, so I might not have the time to…"

"Ronald," interrupted Alan as he patted the blond on the shoulder, "just do it."

"Fine…" Grumbling, Ronald put his feet onto the desk after he sat down, "Hey, wanna join me tonight, Alan-senpai? Since I'm like the only guy tonight…"

To everyone's surprise, Eric was the first one to answer, "I'll go with you, Ronald."

"No, no, no. It would definitely end up like last time if you went with me, Eric-senpai! You were supposed to hit on girls when you go to a pub, not the buffet."

"Well, the food was nice. Plus, I've got someone to pay for me."

"Yeah, right… I felt like a complete idiot spending half of my monthly pay just to satisfy your appetite…" Ronald withdrew his legs and began swiveling on his chair. "What's more, Eric-senpai had no idea about how to treat a lady. Even when the star of the floor showed interest in you, you just…"

"Yeah, I just ignored her."

"You are cruel, Eric-senpai. How can you possibly neglect her like that?" Lack of the right object around to vent his frustration, Ronald decided to bang his head against the wall, "What a merciless blow! I need a day off to get back on my feet!"

Just then, Alan, who managed to focus on his job the whole time, left his seat and walked toward William's desk. "William-senpai, I just found out that some of our clients have cancelled their orders for no reason…"

William skimmed through the files Alan handed to him and frowned. "How strange… I don't think these people have ever had any serious financial problem. Well, guess I shouldn't have let _him_ handle this matter…"

"Eh? _Him_?"

"No! No! No!" The front door was kicked open by a certain redhead as he rushed inside, "It's not _him_! It's _her_! Oh, how can you call yourself a straight A student when you can't even use the proper pronoun, Mr. Humphries?"

Ronald quickly checked his watch and muttered, "Oops, looks like Sutcliff-senpai is late _again_…"

From the other side of the desk, Eric pretended he didn't see Grell, "Ignore whoever is late is the number one unspoken rule of Grim Reaper Garden Tools Limited."

"Good morning, guys❤!"

William continued his conversation with Alan. "I'm handing this matter to you now, Alan Humphries."

"No problem."

Grell went on greeting everyone, "Can't you guys just give me some response?"

The unspoken rule was strictly followed.

Grell's patience was wearing thin so he ran up to William and asked, "Aren't you going to talk to me at all?"

William acted like he was invisible.

Then Alan asked, discreetly, "What do you think is the first thing I should check on, William-senpai?"

With hands under his chin, Willam answered, "Not sure… Honestly, I've been wondering why the company account failed to balance for two months... Could these be related? Wait, could it be _that guy_?"

"Which guy?"

"That evil vermin who claimed to be some underground law-executor…"

"That's right DEATH!" interrupted Grell, "Talking about my Sebby!"

Alan blinked blankly, "Seb, Sebby?"

William's face became incredibly grave, "Yeah, I am talking about that disgusting man who follows his keeper all the time…"

"It's not just him that's chasing someone, Will." Grell showed off the high quality half-naked Sebastian on his phone to William, "I think I want to chase him too…" He looked asquint at the bespectacled man and realized that he was on the edge of lashing out. Knew clearer than anyone about the consequences of making William angry, Grell added, "Hey, are you jealous, Will?"

"Enough!" Fed up with such Grell's provocation, William seized him by the wrist and pressed his chin against the wall. "You rather like this, right? Do take a good look at the rules again, you slacker"

"Ah… Wi, Will…" Other than moaning, there weren't many choices for Grell to express his excitement when being dominated by William.

"You've not been doing your job, Grell Sutcliff. Do learn to save me some trouble next time."

"Okay… Okay…" In pain, Grell could barely utter a word. "It hurts, Will… It hurts…"

Under most circumstances, Grell would beg for forgiveness when he was suffering, since he'd always enjoyed not being forgiven more.

Yet William let him go, "Just get back to work…" Then he told Alan, "From now on, Alan Humphries, you're officially in charge of this matter. I want all related document kept in file 666-4242."

Just then, Eric came to them and said, "Let me help him, William."

Alan turned around, "Eric-senpai?"

William adjusted his glasses and nodded, "Alright. Go ahead, Slingby."

"But…" Alan didn't look so pleased, "I can handle this by myself!"

"Wait a second!" Grell rose from his seat and shouted, "How dare you two intrude while I am the one who's in charge of the case!" He immediately dragged his chainsaw and went for the door.

"Where are you going, Grell Sutcliff?" asked William, trying to stop him.

But Grell already outside the door, "Nobody' can stop me now. NOBODY!"

"Honestly…"

Eric didn't seem to mind Grell's protests and said to Alan, "Why don't we drop by the bank first?"

Though unwilling to be looked after, Alan only sighed, "Yeah, let's go…"

When the two left, William and Ronald were the only ones left in the office.

"Senpai, the junior's got a question." said Ronald.

"Speak."

"I wonder how Eric-senpai and Alan-senpai are getting along. I mean, they seem pretty close but they do argue a lot. I'm kinda confused."

William lifted his head as two beams of silver light reflected from his glasses, "Alan Humphries was introduced into the company by Eric Slingby. I would not be surprised if they are very close. This might also be the reason why he is so concerned about Alan Humphries's _condition_."

"Condition?" Ronald blinked and showed a letter from King's College Hospital*, "Are you talking about_ this_?"

"Probably…" William turned his face to the window.

XXXXX

2011.4.24, 10:17pm, London, Albannach Restaurant**.

Ciel and Sebastian appeared behind Undertaker, who was sipping his wine, "We've finally found you, Undertaker."

Undertaker cackled as he turned around, "Hehehe… Want me to lock you up in a security box now, earl?"

"You need to stop this." said Ciel, "Who could possibly tolerate your queer behaviors if you weren't needed in solving our case?"

"Oh? So you are not coming to join me for a drink? How cruel…"

"That's because young master has not yet reach the legal drinking age." answered Sebastian.

"We don't have much time to waste here." Ciel decided to get to business as fast as possible, "Undertaker, I'm here for one thing. You've probably heard of the unforeseen financial distress occurring among some businessmen in London. Even the Financial Services Authority*** didn't have a clue about this. That's why I was entrusted to investigate the case with some unconventional methods."

Undertaker's lips twitched a bit as he nodded, "So that's why you are here… Well, you know how to crack my mouth open. Please give me a 'first-rate' laugh!" He then turned around to run his fingers across Ciel's silky skin, "And you are right, earl. It's boring to follow the conventions… That's why I want the joke to be unconventionally funny, too."

Goosebumps were all over Ciel's body before he sighed, "Fine. Maybe you should tell me what you want, specifically."

"Well, if you don't mind the trouble stalking me in the first place, I assume you wouldn't mind go to extremes to make me laugh, either, would you? After all, this is one of the best Scottish pubs in London! All I want to hear is one heartbreaking love song!"

"Love song?" Ciel's lips mechanically trembled before he turned to Sebastian, "You heard him, Sebastian. Just give him what he wants."

"Understood!" After a quick bow to his master, Sebastian said, "What would a personal assistant of Earl Phantomhive be, if I couldn't even offer a little bit love?" With his coat on his shoulder, Sebastian hopped onto the stage and handed a cheque to the lead singer.

The singer stared at him blankly, "Whass up, hottie?"

Sebastian put a finger on his lips and smiled, "Just give me something cheesy and old-fashioned…" With the microphone in his hands, he shouted to the audience, "C'mon, music!"

The band delightedly cooperated. Soon, the pub became the place for Sebastian's mini-concert. Pink light flashed on Sebastian's face as he sang along with the music. Everyone was lost in his heart-melting voice, except Ciel.

When the music was over, the pub was showered by cheers and endless shouts for encore. Yet Sebastian had no intention in singing again. He walked to Ciel, who had a this-bullshit-ain't-no-love look on his face, and asked, "What seems to be the problem, young master?"

"Can't you tell?" Ciel punched the bar counter and scolded, "You call this nonsense 'love'? Are you nuts?"

Their conversation was cut off by Undertaker's penetrating scream, "Aaaahhhhh! My heart is flooded with loooooove! Oh, this is amazing!" He knelt down to embrace a chair, but a second later jumped up to seize Sebastian by his collar, "What a talented and shiny pimp you are! Oh, I think I'm falling for you…"

"Why, thanks."

"Just thinking about how you hopped up and down that stage and sang that sad love song in Scottish accent would make me go nuts… Oh, I'm totally lost! Bartender, champagne for everyone!"

Ciel looked extremely puzzled, "So you are satisfied?"

Sebastian giggled, "It seems that you have trouble understanding the deep meaning of love, young master."

"Shut up, Sebastian." Ciel turned his face to Undertaker, "Since you're sated, I guess it's time to tell me what you know, Undertaker."

"Ah, I'm so spoiled…" Undertaker murmured as he steadied himself, "Fine, since I've made a promise… So far, what I know about those unfortunate businessmen is that none of them went broke because of what you might call 'usual causes'."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, like stock market loss, usurious loans or gambling… It's none of those."

"I know that. It's reported in the papers."

"In addition, earl, their money vanished overnight."

"Overnight?"

"Although I have no idea who did it, he must be an expert. No ordinary criminal could do something like this without leaving a trace…"

Ciel took a deep breath at the fact. _Of course it was not done by any ordinary criminal, otherwise the FSA wouldn't ask me to solve this problem for them! _However, that was all Undertaker was willing to tell. "If our opponent is no ordinary felon," said Ciel as he jumped down the chair, "it might as well be your time to shine, Sebastian."

"As you wish."

"Get this man. It's an order."

"Yes, my Lord."

XXXXX

*/**/***: These are all names of real places and organizations. I only used the names to make the story closer to reality but for no other purposes.


	12. Chapter 4 Part II

**A/N: I feel like a bad writer to leaving the main pairing out of the picture, but yeah, not much Will/Grell in this chapter. I'm trying my best to let the story flow with the plot of the musical. Hope you like it. :)**

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Four

File No. 666-4242

(II)

2011.4.24, 11:05pm, London, Northumberland St*.

Ciel didn't head home after coming out of the restaurant. "Walk with me, Sebastian."

Sebastian silently followed.

It was a creepy night, almost too creepy for anyone to go outdoors. When the two reached the well-known Sherlock Holmes pub**, they saw two familiar strangers.

"Wow, I think I saw the legendary 'Sebby'…" Eric waved from a table outside the pub, "You were the one who drove William and Grell into the sea. I must admit you are rather tough… And cute, too. No wonder Grell is so _interested_ in you." He smirked.

Alan, who sat next to Eric, only watched quietly.

Ciel glared at the two and asked, "What are those two up to?"

"Oh, it's the 'Grim Reapers' again!" Sebastian alertly moved to the front of Ciel, "It's the middle of the night, please don't tell me you two are here to enjoy the leftovers of the day."

"Watch your mouth!" shouted Alan as he rose with his weapon.

Eric stopped his companion and turned to Sebastian, "You have no idea what a crappy day we've been through. There has been some problems going on in our company and to investigate, we had to do overtime every single day. I think I'm having a backache already… Just what are you two doing here?"

Sebastian gasped and smiled, "Oh? Am I obligated to report this to you?"

Eric shrugged, "Of course not."

"What a reasonable gentleman." said Sebastian as his expressions stilled, "Definitely more easy-going than a certain man with the pruning pole."

"Eric-senpai!" Alan had had enough so he swung his cleaver towards Sebastian, "It's absolutely pointless to talk to this evil pest!"

"Alan!" Eric tried to stop him but failed. Nervously watching, he held on tight to his saw.

A man wearing a cap appeared at the doorway.

Seeing Alan running near, Ciel ordered, "Do something, Sebastian."

Putting a coat on his master's shoulders, Sebastian muttered "As you wish, young master." before turning around to aim his gun at Alan, "Why in such a hurry, Mr. Humphries?"

"Alan! Don't be so bold! It's not a good time to get tangled with this guy!"

It was unclear whether Alan was frustrated because they'd remained in square one of their investigation for days, but one thing was for sure: he neglected Eric's advices, which he seldom did. It seemed that he was really determined to teach Sebastian a lesson.

"I think he's just bluffing, Eric-senpai. No way he's gonna shoot me right here!" Alan raised the cleaver above his head and before you knew it, he collapsed.

"Alan!" Eric ran to his colleague, "Are you okay?"

Just then, the redheaded stalker threw away his cap and walked out of the pub, "Hey, look who's bluffing after all…"

Ciel murmured the man's name, "Grell Sutcliff…"

"Hey there❤!" Grell blew a kiss to Sebastian before he walked towards Alan, "Don't burden your heart by lashing out like that, Alan…"

"Heart?" repeated Sebastian.

"That's right! Alan is suffering from a congenital heart defect*** which remained silent for many years… Until recently. I know you are still having a hard time digesting the news, Alan, but your heart would suffer every time you push yourself to do something you are not capable of doing! If you go on like this, your heart would one day stop beating…"

"How sad…" remarked Sebastian.

"Oh, you know what, Sebby? When I see you I'm also out of breath and experience intense chest pain like Alan does!"

"Grell," said Eric, anxiously, "not a good time to flirt with this man! A, Alan… Are you alright? Call the ambulance, people! Right now!" Knowing that he didn't have the time to wait any longer, Eric took out his own mobile –

Sebastian pointed the gun at Eric's hand and said, "Mr. Eric, I have no intention in killing you but if you dare press the number 9, I could not guarantee that the bullet would hit your mobile instead of your hand…" He turned to Ciel, "Young master, since the car is nearby, let's take them home and let a private doctor attend the patient.

"You are taking them to my place?"

"It's boring to have only two passengers in a Lincoln Limousine anyway."

Ciel sneered, "Looks like you've got a plan, Sebastian. Fine, they can stay at my place for the time being…"

"Really?" Grell couldn't believe his ears, "Sebby is willing to _help_ us?"

"Help? Now, I would not say that I am offering help but I guess it won't hurt me if you take it that way."

"Oh, you're so warm-hearted, Sebby❤!"

Sebastian wanted to smile back but frowned instead, "You never listen, do you?" He followed Ciel upon finishing. Grell quickly followed the two, leaving Eric and Alan in the dark alley.

"Alan, I know you might not like it, but let's…"

"Oh, no, this is good…" Alan sighed weakly, "There's nothing like an invitation from your enemy."

"Alan, don't do this to yourself."

"I mean, we can have a good check on them too. After all, they are our top suspects."

Eric helped Alan up and said, "You are sick. Just forget about work, okay?"

So they slowly moved toward a certain Lincoln Limousine at the corner of the street. To them, walking to the end of this narrow little lane seemed like a marathon.

"Eric-senpai, are we being followed?"

"It's okay, Alan. It was just Grell. He was probably mad at us for stealing his mission. Haha…" Eric let out a bitter laugh. Alan's disease was in fact curable but his condition had not been very stable ever since the diagnosis came out. This could also explain why William only let him finish tasks that did not require much physical strength. Eric's heart and soul were relentlessly tortured every time he saw Alan in pain. _This is just unfair… Such a gifted young man shouldn't be worrying about whether he would stop breathing for running too fast._ Eric felt his chest being stabbed every time this thought came to mind.

XXXXX

2011.4.25, 02:16am, London, Phantomhive Manor, East Wing, Guest Room.

Alan opened his eyes and found Eric sitting by his bedside.

"You're awake…" Eric quickly got up and handed him a glass of water, "How are you feeling?"

Before answering Eric's question, Alan asked, "Did I just pass out? How come I can't remember how I got here?"

"You were barely conscious when you got on the car, Alan. That's why… But you don't need to worry now. The doctor has prescribed some meds for you. Just take a good rest. Here, have a drink of water."

"No, thanks."

"You want something else?"

"I said no!"

Eric blankly stared at Alan's pale face. _Is it because he didn't want to show his weak side? How stubborn and naïve…_ Faintly smiling, Eric sat down and waited for Alan to speak.

After a while, Alan asked as he slowly sat up on the bed, "Called William-senpai yet?"

Eric waved his hands and answered, "Forget about him already. He'd scold me to hell if I called him in the middle of the night… Let's wait till the day."

"Shouldn't we hurry up and start investigating as soon as we get here?"

"Alan!" Eric held his shoulders, "Forget about work, okay? You collapsed because you were overworking yourself! Just rest…"

Yet Alan shook his head and sighed, "Eric-senpai, can't you see this is karma?"

Eric gasped, "What are you talking about?"

"I have been thinking whether I got this illness because of the job…"

"It has nothing to do with the job!" Eric slightly raised his voice, "It's a congenital heart defect, don't you remember? How could it possibly be related to the job if you had it when you were born? Don't be so superstitious. Plus, even if it is karma, I definitely deserve more suffering than you."

Alan lowered his head and sighed, "Well, everything you say always sounds so reasonable. I think I've always admired you for that, senpai."

"You do?"

"You are capable, and seldom hesitate. However big a problem seems, it's nothing to you… And not just this!" Alan lifted his head up and looked into Eric's eyes, "You might don't look very easy-going, but you do care about us… All of us! I really, really want to be like you… Why, just why would I end up like…"

"Stop thinking about those things, Alan… It's not your fault that you are sick so stop torturing yourself with these ridiculous beliefs! What you need to do right now is to rest! And don't look down to yourself. I can't be like you, either, Alan."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't be like you, Alan. You are a good person… I used to say you are too sentimental, but in fact, I could be the one who had grown numb to my sins. Therefore, if anyone should be punished, it would be me, not you, understood? Stop thinking and go back to sleep, Alan. I'm not going anywhere else."

XXXXX

2011.4.25, 02:44am, London, Phantomhive Manor, West Wing, Ball Room.

Ever since he brought Grell to the manor, Sebastian had been experiencing queer chillness inside his spine. As time went by, he started to doubt whether it was the right choice to leave that red lingerie in Grell's room. When everyone else was asleep, Sebastian wandered in the corridor outside the ball room. "Will he come?" _What a ridiculous question to ask… That pervert would definitely put the lingerie on and tie himself up with a rope before he falls by my feet, hungry and burning… _"This is very likely the case…"

Just then, the same chillness ran up to his brain. _He's here! _Quickly hiding himself behind the stairs, Sebastian decided to observe for a while to see how far Grell could go before making a move himself.

Right after Sebastian hid himself behind the darkness, the silhouette of the red beauty appeared at the entrance room. In his lovely crimson lingerie and exposing his legs that could drive men mad and women jealous, Grell entered with the rope tied around his body. He looked around but Sebastian was nowhere to be found. "You're such a bad boy, Sebby… It was you who gave me this flirty gift after all. I assume you'd show up on time to put off the flames burning in my soul…" Giggling, the redhead came to the dancing pole in the middle of the room. "Well, good that I have the right clothes on. Let's warm up before Sebby arrives…" Then, he unwound himself from the rope and embraced the pole so sophisticatedly that it seemed he had done it a million times before. In the next few minutes, Grell kept circling and climbing up and down the pole, showing off his unbelievable sexiness in the dark while slowly becoming intoxicated in narcissism. Laughing in erotic joy, he called the unseen stalker's name:

"Oh, Sebby, I know you are hiding because you're too shy… I'm not surprised at all since you're still too immature. It would be too boring if you were such an easy treat anyway. But when you push me onto the bed and listen to our feverish breaths, I'm sure you couldn't possibly hold it…"

Sebastian, who was still quietly watching from an unseen corner, had goosebumps all over his body.

The redhead continued with his declaration of _love_, "But Sebby, do remember not to be so rough on me… Because I, I might break!"

_God I want to kill him… _Thought Sebastian when he heard what Grell said.

"Ah, Sebby, I know you're aching for this! My Romeo, stop hiding and let me give everything to you DEATH❤!"

The lights in the ball room lit up all of a sudden.

When Sebastian entered, Grell was hanging on the pole upside down. He fell onto the floor the second he saw the man.

"Oh, here you are, Mr. Grell."

Grell, instead of trying to stand up, lied beside the pole and pouted, "Sebby, you're here at last… Oh, you have no idea how long I've been waiting for this."

"I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you are talking about."

"How cold…" said Grell as he crawled to Sebastian's feet, "You were the one who wanted to seduce me… You can't pretend that nothing had happened."

That was when sympathy for a man who was not present began to grow in Sebastian's heart. _Having to face such a pervert every single day… Your life must not be easy, Mr. William._

"I need you for the night, Sebby…"

"Oh, of course I wouldn't pretend that nothing had happened… Plus –" Smiling, Sebastian bowed down and held Grell's chin in his hand, keeping a distance between their lips so close that a kiss could occur in any second. "I need you for the night too…"

Grell's whole body was stimulated within a fraction of a second. Red hair stuck on his rosy cheek because of sweat. Yet he couldn't help feeling skeptical as he muttered, "This, this is too immoral, too…Abnormal. I'm actually very devoted although it might not look that way… Wait, what am I talking about… After all, I'm a hunter for love who had been wandering between to love and be loved. I've finally found my way now, right, Sebby? Just tell me what you want, and I can… I really can turn into the innocent virgin you've been dreaming for!"

Sebastian was glad he didn't go crazy upon this nonsense as he pressed his disgust and answered calmly, "Becoming a virgin might be too difficult for you, Mr. Grell…" He carefully tied a knot around Grell's neck with the rope and whispered, "Mind coming with me, Mr. Grell? I'll take you to my most private place."

"Ah… Ah, Sebby…" Grell was completely speechless. Before that very night, no one had ever been so direct to him. Well, the man he saw everyday never showed any sign to soften down. Even Sebastian had always seemed more like a mirage than an actual target. Yet now, his dream just came true… "Please, Sebby, do remember to be gentle to me…"

"I know." Emotionlessly, Sebastian dragged a completely resigned Grell out of the room. "Oh, I still have a question for you, Mr. Grell." He turned around and asked, "Why should I be gentle when I'm in fact investigating a case?"

XXXXX

*Name of a real street, just so you know. And yes I'm addicted to anything involving Sherlock Holmes…

** Yes I'm addicted to anything involving Sherlock Holmes…

***Some congenital heart disease might not be diagnosed until adulthood. And yes I watched too much House…


	13. Chapter 4 Part III

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Four

File No. 666-4242

(III)

2011.4.25, 03:20am, London, Phantomhive Manor, Basement.

"So this is you most private place, Sebby?"

"Oh? What did you think I was talking about, Mr. Grell?"

"Liar…" Grell was about to turn around and leave before Sebastian promptly took him by the wrist:

"No hurry, Mr. Grell. I assume you want to get your job done too. Isn't it your boss's order?"

"Don't you dare use Will to threaten me…"

"That's not what I meant." Sebastian lightly pulled the redhead to his side and continued, "I was just wondering if the two of us could cooperate… I'm sure we can crack any problem ahead, whether mine or yours."

Grell faked a smile and kept his eyes half-closed, "Cooperating with the number one suspect? Interesting." He let his hands snaked up Sebastian's shoulder. "However, you should be very clear that I'm not one of those stupid girls that you could manipulate…" He took Sebastian by the collar, keeping a heart-melting distance between their lips and smirked, "You really think I'd betray my friends just because you teased me?" He stated with an air of seriousness that the other man had never witnessed before.

Looking rather surprised, Sebastian twitched a brow, "Wow, I didn't expect you to be so… So loyal." He freed the redhead from his grip before turning on his laptop. "I adore your loyalty, but I'm sure you'll regret leaving this room too soon."

Grell didn't look very convinced, "Wait, you were the one who said you needed me! Now you're teasing me again?"

Sebastian shrugged, "You're smart, Mr. Grell. Very smart." He showed him to a chair, "Pray sit down. I believe we have what you might call _mutual benefit_." He opened a file where a long list of names was shown as he continued, "In the past two months, these people have gone bankrupt one after another. Even after thorough investigation, we failed to find a persuasive explanation behind this series of unfortunate events." He turned to Grell, who had silently settled himself in the chair, "Young master and I believe these people must have something in common for their bankruptcies to be so much alike, so we tried to find it. Luckily, we soon made a breakthrough… Can't you see what it is, Mr. Grell?"

Grell stared at the screen as his eyes widened. Nothing was said.

"These names do look familiar, right?"

"Thi, this is impossible…"

"I'm afraid this is frozen truth. These people do have one and only one thing in common: they are all clients of Grim Reaper Garden Tools Limited. It must be a huge blow to your company since these people no longer have a coin left in their pockets."

"You've been checking on us?"

"Loosen up, Mr. Grell. This is just the beginning. That's why I need your help. You're the key to the solution."

"Me? Why?"

Sebastian rested his head on the back of the chair and grinned, "I bet your colleague with facioplegia is also working on the case. As far as I know, he thinks we are the culprit, am I right? All you know is that your clients went broke for no reason, but not the fact that those who went broke are all your clients. Can't you sort out the logic here, Mr. Grell? Where's the true culprit?"

"You mean…" Grell covered his mouth in disbelief, slightly trembling at the thought, "If those who went broke were all our clients, then the suspect would not be people outside the company… No way! There must be something wrong! We do proper business with our clients, and it would be suicidal to steal their money!"

"You sure you're not the only one who's fooled?"

Grell lashed out and shouted, "Nonsense! You have doubts about the trust between the five of us?"

"I didn't say that…" Sebastian shrugged again, "I also believe that your mean, stony-faced boss wouldn't do something so stupid. However, you are all entwined in the case. That's why your cooperation is essential... You have no choice, Grell Sutcliff."

"You think we have a traitor?"

"Now, I didn't say that."

"How do I know if this is not a trap?"

Sebastian shook his head and chuckled, "I'm not playing no guessing game with you. If you do not trust me, you can just forget about everything you saw and regard the bankruptcies as an unfavorable result of the financial crisis!"

It sucked to know that someone else had a better point than you do, but it was too late for Grell to ignore Sebastian's words. Stiffly scratching his forehead, he sighed, "Even Will had no idea about this? Why… Damn, if we really had a traitor, then…"

That was when Sebastian handed the laptop to Grell, "Do go check right now. We can definitely get more information."

Right after Grell had placed his fingers on the keyboard, he realized something, "Wait, are you telling me to log onto our bank account in your laptop?"

"Well, it's convenient, isn't it?"

"How do I know whether you'd used some strange software to track down my password so you can access the account anytime you want?"

Sebastian slightly tilted his head and whispered to his ear, "How cruel, Mr. Grell… What good would it do to me? We are not interested in the money. I mean, it's not like we are not going to arrest you, because we will. Yet manipulating you by hacking into your bank account is not my thing." He rose and put a hand on Grell's shoulder. "I really, really need your help, Mr. Grell."

Unwilling yet curious, Grell had to make a decision. Sebastian was never a man to trust but he didn't seem to have a reason to say no, either. If Sebastian was right, the case could be solved within minutes. Sighing, Grell decided to enter the password and all the activities of Grim Reaper Garden Tools Limited in the past two months were shown on the screen.

"I believe Alan Humphries is in charge of the financial affairs?"

"Yes."

"Does he know where the problem lies?"

"No, but Will had ordered him to investigate."

"Alone?"

"He was supposed to do it alone, but Eric said he wanted to help so now both of them are in charge of the case…" Grell was still mad at William for giving his case to someone else. "I was supposed to be one in charge! Will is just… He's the worst…"

Just then, Sebastian pointed to the screen, "Look, Mr. Grell. Someone has made a transfer just 15 minutes ago."

Grell didn't know what to think as his lips confusingly bent downward, "How is this even possible… No, I don't think it's done through the computer from the company."

"He log on through mobile phone." Sebastian took out his own cell phone and pressed a few buttons. "As long as it is turned on, I can locate it. So if I'm not mistaken, this phone lies in… Look, it is right here in the Phantomhive Manor."

"Here?"

Sebastian smiled coldly, "Isn't it interesting? Who else in the house could've logged onto the account? You are with me all night. I'll definitely know if you have used your phone. The poor thing that is in charge of the financial affairs, according to our CCTV, have been sleeping in his room for the past two hours and never even touched a phone. Don't look at me this way, Mr. Grell. We've got our man already, haven't we? The culprit is the man who poked his nose into the matter just to cover his ass…"

XXXXX

2011.4.25, 05:35am, London, Phantomhive Manor, West Wing, Guest Room.

Grell returned to his room, soaked in cold sweat. In the past two hours, he had been confirming the evidence again and again and again… Even after Sebastian had told him that it was the only answer, he still repeatedly checked all the information, like someone with OCDs. However, Sebastian was right. Nothing else could explain it other than one name…

Lying in bed, devastated, his mind went blank. He tried to calm down by closing his eyes but was woken by the heartbreaking truth. As if driven by subconscious, he dialed William's number.

William answered, almost immediately, "Finally calling back now?" He sounded annoyingly cold.

"Will…" It was a name Grell had called a million times before, yet at that moment, he was so nervous that he almost stumbled over the name, "Will, aren't you asleep?"

"Idiot, like I could answer a phone in my sleep… I didn't even go home. Still at the office, alone, trying to deal with the cancel of orders." He heard Grell panting on the other side so he asked, rather alertly, "What did you do?"

"Eh? I was just, just with Sebby while we…" Grell stopped, knowing he had mentioned a wrong name.

Both sides fell into awkward silence.

"You are calling me at 5:30 in the morning to tell me that you've just been through a passionate evening with that disgusting man?"

"No! It's not like that! Will, I can explain this! I'm not finished yet!"

"Honestly, I haven't even punished you for leaving the office during working hours last Friday..."

"Hold on! Just, Will, hold on a second!" Grell violently cut off William's words and said, "The real reason I'm calling you is… Okay, Will, just promise me you won't hang up half-way. Please…"

"Well, if you're teasing me like this then I might as well hang up right now."

"I'm telling you now! Right now!" Grell hastily wrapped himself in bed sheets, as if the silky touch could ease his desire for caress. "Did Alan call you?"

William seemed to have noticed the problem too. "Weren't you the one stalking him? But, yeah, it was strange because he hasn't been telling me about his progress since last night. What happened?"

"Well, actually… Will, I've got good news and bad news for you. Which one do you want to hear first?"

"Don't get cute, just do it according to logical orders."

"Fine." Grell took a deep breath before continuing, "The good news is, I've found the culprit. Bad news is… We have a traitor in our midst, Will."

XXXXX

2011.4.25, 05:45am, London, Phantomhive Manor, West Wing, Guest Room.

William was silent throughout the ten minutes as Grell explained everything to him.

When Grell finished, he wasn't even sure if the other one was still listening. "Will? Will, are you still there?"

"Ah… Yeah."

"Are you alright?"

"Me? Of course, I'm fine…" William answered gravely.

"Do you have anything to tell me?"

After a moment of hesitation, William said, "No. Good night, Grell." Then he hung up.

Pressing the phone close to his ear, Grell was lost in the last thing William said…

_It's almost morning… He must be extremely drowsy to wish me a good night… Most importantly, did Will just call me by my name…? Just my name?_

Whether the two of them had notice it or not, one thing had become an irreversible truth: Grim Reapers could never go back to their old days ever again…

XXXXX

2011.4.25, 08:21am, London, Phantomhive Manor, Dining Room.

Right after Eric and Alan had settled themselves beside the dining table, Sebastian appeared at the top of the stairs like a gargoyle.

Ciel, who sat at the other side of the table, went on enjoying his black tea, unaffected by Sebastian's creepy presence. "We're still missing a guest. Mind I let my servants serve breakfast later?"

Alan nodded absently.

Eric, on the other hand, held his chin as he squinted at Ciel and Sebastian.

"Where are we going to investigate today, Sebastian?"

"Nowhere."

"Oh? Why is that?" Ciel put down his cup and stared at his subordinate. His lack of surprise indicated that he was expecting such an answer.

Sebastian slowly walked down the stairs to Ciel's side and explained, "Because I've already found the criminal behind the mysterious bankruptcies: Eric Slingby!"

Cold silence filled the room before Eric burst into laughter, "Me? What are you talking about? Even if you have something against me, you shouldn't wrong me like that…"

"I wronged you? Are you implying that you need proof?" Sebastian sneered as he took out a roll of paper, "To be honest, I'm afraid I don't have enough time to address all of them…" He unrolled his report, which was so long that its end touched the floor. "Young master, I guess you can accept this result."

Ciel nodded.

Eric sniffed, "Hey, why do you trust him so much? How could he possibly gather so much evidence in one night?"

Ciel answered without looking at him, "Possible or not, it's none of my concern. I trust Sebastian's abilities."

Sebastian nodded, "That's right. However, I owe this to another person…" He raised his head to look at Grell, who was sitting on the second floor fence. "Mr. Grell?"

Still wearing that lingerie, still had that waterfall of messy red hair down his shoulders, Grell emptied his eyes of the usual cheerfulness. Like a discarded lover, a maiden who had lost interest in the world, he yawned while his legs impatiently swayed in the air.

"Grell-senpai…?" gasped Alan.

Grell neglected Alan's call and placed the chainsaw on his lap.

Sebastian turned to Eric again, "I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Eric, but you must have overlooked the fact that your colleague was willing to help me."

Eric knew this was going somewhere, yet he still quibbled, "Grell, I can't believe you actually had…"

"Enough!" Angry rays beamed from Grell's green eyes. "I would not give you a second chance! How dare you take advantage of our trust… You will pay for you've done!" He jumped down from the second floor holding his death scythe.

_CLING!_

The roaring chainsaw hit the silver saw.

"Grell-senpai! Eric-senpai!"

"Grell, we've been colleagues for many years, can't you just listen to…"

"Shut up, you bastard!"

"Do you even know why I did it?"

"Who cares why you did it!" Grell pressed harder onto his chainsaw, "I can't let a hypocrite ruin what Will and I have made so much effort to gain!"

For Alan, not a single clear thought could be retrieved from his mind anymore… "Why, Eric-senpai? Why did you do it?" He didn't know who to trust and whom he would trust did not matter. At that time, nothing Alan Humphries chose to do could change anything.

Eric knew it was not going to end well for him if he stayed so he quickly took a step back and jumped out of a window.

"Eric!" Alan instantly ran after him.

"Alan, come back!" Grell tried to stop him but it was too late. The poor child had already disappeared from his sight. "What the hell… He's still sick! Where on earth did he get all that energy?"

"You're not chasing them anymore, Mr. Grell?" asked Sebastian.

Grell turned around and smirked, "You wanna know why? Because I missed the sweet nothings you whispered to my ear last night…"

Ciel had the first look of surprise of the day, "Seriously, you really did that, Sebastian?"

"Mr. Grell, please don't say it in such a misleading way. Everything we did last night was about the job."

Grell snickered as he played with his bangs. "Well, you really know how to lie, Sebby. Silly man… Don't you know that my real job is the _Hunter of Love_? Of course we were doing our job… And I wouldn't mind having an in-depth discussion on the job with you, really…"

Disgusted, Sebastian decided to cover Grell's mouth to shut him up, "Thank you very much for your cooperation, Mr. Grell, but I really have to go to work now." Then, he turned to Ciel. "Young master, shall I get the car for you now?"

Ciel answered with a nod. _You are not going anywhere, Eric Slingby._ He thought to himself.


	14. Chapter 4 Part IV

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Four

File No. 666-4242

(IV)

2011.4.25, 11:38am, London, Baker St.*

When Eric arrived at Baker Street, Viscount Druitt was nowhere to be found.

"Damn, he promised to pick me up right here just a minute ago over the phone. Where did that bastard go?" Just then, he spotted a man wearing a checkered shawl and deerstalker walking out of a store, followed by two young girls.

_Is he cosplaying Sherlock Holmes? He really knows how to do the right thing at the right place... This is ridiculous…_ Then he saw Viscount Druitt going up to Room 221B. "Is he insane? What is he doing taking gals up there…" Suspecting something was wrong, Eric stalked the Viscount into the building.

A few minutes later, Alan showed up and soon recognized a flamboyant sports car painted in gold and silver. It belonged to Viscount Druitt, which indicated that Eric could be somewhere near…

XXXXX

2011.4.25, 11:41am, London, Baker St., Room 221B.

When Eric reached the doorway, he could already hear screams…

"Oh, dear robins, please don't panic. I'm sure your body would turn into the most breathtaking figure in the hands of the Creator of Beauty, which is _me_!"

A second round of weeping and begging began.

"Ah, you know I can't capture anything if you don't stop yelling like this…"

The girls only cried harder.

_PAAH!_

Druitt finally lost control of his temper and took out a whip, "Stop crying! Stop! Stop! Stop! SHUT UP! Even if you want to cry, it should not sound so harsh… How annoying… Annoying! Why can't you acknowledge my efforts in building the road to eternal beauty! I put my heart and soul into finding an elegant bird, but why can I find nothing but such hysteric poultry? How very disappointing…" He whipped the floor again, only to drive the girls to the edge.

Eric couldn't take it anymore so he kicked the door open and…

_BANG! BANG!_

The crying girls instantly went quiet.

"Eric?" Viscount Druitt rose to find his acquaintance standing in front of him. "Why are you here?"

"We were talking on the phone just 5 minutes ago. Don't you remember?" Eric then lit a cigarette, annoyed.

The Viscount suddenly calmed down to whisper to Eric's ear, "Oh, I remember now. You were asking me to do you a favor, weren't you?"

"Yeah… I just didn't expect you to show up here and…" Eric coughed as he pointed to the nearly naked sleeping angels on the floor.

Druitt let out an astonished gasp, "Oh, you mean them… Wait! If they are shot dead why aren't they bleeding at all?"

"Idiot, just when did I kill them?" Eric took out his gun and put it on a table. "I was only shooting anesthesia needles to keep them quiet for the time being. By the way, I never knew you took up photography…" He turned his face away from the girls.

Viscount Druitt beamed cheerfully, "Oh, what a compliment! I've just discovered a brand new direction on my long road to pursue beauty! Ah, Eric, it's such a shame that you aren't interested in women. It's really your loss not being able to appreciate the most delicate and pure wonder of the world!"

"It's really a loss of the medical world that your brain isn't kept in a jar and being studied by psychologists. Have you been skipping your meds again?"

"Meds? Oh, you mean the poison prescribed by those ignorant jerks? They believed they could understand the extraordinary mastermind of the Martyr of Beauty, which is also _me_… Oh, how absurd!"

Eric was, as always, speechless at Druitt's speaking skills, "If I'm not mistaken, you were referring to your doctors?"

"Forget about them, Eric… It was nothing but a conspiracy against the Passenger of Beauty, which is still _me_, in broad daylight! So unfortunate…"

"Well, I don't see any sort of conspiracy between the 13 doctors who diagnosed you with incurable schizophrenia**."

"Eric, it's so sad that you couldn't understand my lofty ideals and untouchable mind…"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Dealing with someone with gender identity disorder was hard enough, and now I have to face this psychopath…" He sighed, "Karma, this is definitely karma."

"By the way, how long do you intend to stay in my palace, Eric?"

"Not very long." Eric glimpsed out of the window, "I know you are leaving for Paris soon. I want to hitchhike out of England." He paused before continuing, "However, before we leave, I have another favor to ask."

"What is it, Eric?"

"Help me get into the jewelry exhibition tomorrow evening."

Druitt burst into laughter, "Hah? This is it? Oh, you worry too much, Eric! No problem!"

"Not just this… Actually, I…I want you to work with me and steal all the jewelry away. We'll split the goods 50/50."

As expected, Druitt's eyes were immediately filled with glittering sparkles, "Ah, this sound so exciting! I know you're good, Eric, but I didn't expect you to ask me to be your partner in crime! The union between beauty and immortality is indeed the most intoxicating!" The only advantage of rambling with Viscount Druitt was that no matter how insane your idea sounded, he would never question its rationality. Instead, the crazier the idea, the sooner he would fall for it. In this case, choosing Viscount Druitt as the escape rope was definitely the best choice.

Just then, they heard quick steps up the stairs. Before Eric could prepare himself for the sudden intruder, Alan was already at the door with his cleaver. "Eric, I've finally found you!" Then he saw the almost naked girls on the floor, "I can't believe it, Eric… Why did you…"

"Hey, I didn't know he was doing this until I got…"

"And you haven't answered the questions I asked you earlier!" That was when a heartbreaking guess struck Alan, "Could it be… Eric, did you do it because of…"

"Never mind, you'll understand when I'm through with this."

"No, Eric! I want you to tell me right now!"

It was the time when Viscount Druitt decided that he had enough, "Eric, this friend of yours is really annoying." He picked up Eric's gun from the table, "Let me just gracefully shut him up…" The psychopath's words were followed by an unexpected gunshot before Alan fell onto the floor, just like the girls did.

"Are you nuts?" shouted Eric. "Why did you…"

"You're overreacting, Eric. Aren't you the one who's desperate to get out of here?"

Sadly, Viscount Druitt was right…

XXXXX

2011.4.25, 02:17pm, London, Phantomhive Manor, Study.

"Young master, we must attend this exhibition. Didn't you hear what Alan Humphries said? I know he's not fully conscious right now but what he overheard is really important… Things would get sticky if Eric Slingby fled to France."

"I know…" Ciel impatiently drummed on the table, "However, I've already announced long ago that I'd not be attending the event because Madam Red's ruby necklace, _Dew of Bloody Spider Lily_, would be put on display! Breaking this promise would only give paparazzi more stuff to write about. It would be your fault if I ended up looking exceptionally ridiculous to the public."

Then, a rather provoking, or even flirty idea popped into Sebastian's mind, "Young master, I understand that you are a man of integrity and I do not want to see you bearing an indecent name. However, the exhibition is our last chance to arrest the man. We must attend the event no matter what. The only solution would be to go in disguise."

_I've got a bad feeling about this… _Ciel stared up at him with a twitched brow and asked, "You mean to dress up?"

"Bingo."

Ciel shivered at the idea, "Wipe that nasty smile off your face, Sebastian! This is not a good idea at all! Avoid seeing that psychotic Viscount is another reason I decided to skip this event! Now you are not only telling me to show up, but also to…"

"It's okay, young master. I'm sure he wouldn't recognize you."

"That's not my concern, you idiot! Why would anyone let that psycho goof around like this at all? Have all the asylums in England closed down? Plus, Sebastian…" Ciel angrily pointed at the door, "Why is this guy still hanging around my house?"

Sebastian turned around to find a certain redhead clinging on the door with a teasing grin on his face, "Ah, Sebby, want me to attend the exhibition with you instead?"

"Eh, Mr. Grell…" Sebastian rushed to the door and shut it behind his back so Grell couldn't enter the room, "I don't care. This is not a homeless shelter. Not to mention you're not even a homeless man so please, get back to where you belong!"

"Uh… How cruel…" Grell lightly pushed Sebastian's shoulder, "Weren't you the one who asked me to give a hand? You're regretting now?"

"There's one thing you should know, Mr. Grell: I don't take any promise seriously other than the ones made to my young master."

"Oh? So what if you screwed up?"

"As you can see, I don't take anything for granted. Therefore I would not agree to any action unless I have the confidence and competence to complete my mission."

"You're sure you can stop both Eric and the Viscount from stealing all the jewelry away?"

"Even if I can't, I wouldn't need your help anymore, Mr. Grell."

"Yeah, right…" Slowly withdrawing himself, Grell leaned onto the window sill, "There's only one alternative left if you've decided to leave me behind."

"Wait, you mean…"

Grell snickered and said, "Oh, silly Sebby, have you forgotten my real occupation? Even if you managed to catch Eric and the Viscount red-handed, you'd still be screwed if you failed to protect the jewelry, right?" There, he jumped down the window.

That was when Sebastian realized what he meant. He hastily reached out his arm hoping to pull Grell back into the house but just like last time, his opponent disappeared like a ghost. The beauty was gone before Sebastian could recall his silhouette. The only thing left was Grell's high-pitched echoes in the air:

"I WANT THE NECKLACE TOO❤!"

XXXXX

2011.4.25, 05:29pm, London, Grim Reaper Garden Tools Limited.

William sat by his desk while Ronald was getting ready to leave. 12 hours had passed since Grell's last call. Alan didn't call, either. Nothing much was done when they had only two people at the office.

Just when William was uncertain whether he should stay, his mobile rang. It was Grell. He realized something went wrong so he called the blond from his desk, "Ronald Knox, we might have overtime tonight. Stay put till I'm done with this phone call."

"But it's almost time to go home…"

"I'll give you a vacation after this."

Ronald instantly fell back to his seat.

William answered the phone, "So, how's everything?"

XXXXX

Done with his role as the informant, Grell tentatively asked, "So… will you attend the exhibition tomorrow, Will?"

"We are about to fire an employee, of course I need to show up in person."

"Then, after firing Eric, what else would you do? Hmm, I mean, it's a jewelry show after all…"

"Honestly, what are you implying?"

"Ah, I know Will would get it right away! It's nothing really. I just really, really want that necklace… You know, _Dew of Bloody Spider Lily_…"

"You mean the ruby necklace that once belonged to Madam Red?"

"Yeah… I've wanted it ever since I first saw it."

"So?"

"Eh?" Grell frowned. _Couldn't he tell that I want him to get the necklace for me? _"Wait, what do you mean, Will?"

"You should really stop bringing up irrelevant topics… What happened between you and that woman was months ago. I don't see why you must keep something like that in mind after all this time. You can bid for it with any price you like. It's none of my business."

"Hey!"

"Alright, I'll definitely go and you can decide whether to show up or not, as long as you don't get in my way, okay? Bye." He hung up, looking irritated.

Ronald, who had been peeking from behind the computer all this time, asked, "Were you talking about the exhibition at Earl's Court***?"

"Yep. We've got overtime tonight… Preparing for a sneak-in is no easy task."

"Sneak-in?" Ronald blinked, "If we were only to fire Eric-senpai, we could just show up. Why sneak in?"

"Other things would come handier if we were in disguise."

"Other things?" The young man frowned in dismay, "We actually have _other things_ to do?"

William reluctantly shook his head, "Nothing really. I mean, just in case… Anyway, do some research on the exhibition first."

"As you wish, Sir…" Ronald mechanically answered and begun his research. "By the way, does Sutcliff-senpai want to put this _Dew of Bloody Spider Lily_ in his pocket?"

"Forget about him already. Honestly, he's always got crazy ideas in his brain…"

"It's not crazy at all, Spears-senpai. That necklace is the star of the show. I can totally see how it attracts the ladies."

"But he's not even a lady… Plus, I was not talking about the necklace. The future of our company is hanging in the balance but all _that thing_ has in mind is only a necklace… _And_ he want me to steal it for him! Absolutely intolerable…"

Ronald thought for a moment before he giggled, "Oh, so _that_'s why we need to sneak in!"

William glared at him, "It's not what you think."

"I wasn't thinking about anything, senpai!" Ronald explained with a proud smirk on his face, indicating he knew something William didn't. "I've always known that Sutcliff-senpai had been chasing after you and all. No matter how cruel you were to him, he just never gave up. I used to mock him saying that this is just one-sided love and he'd never be requited. But now, I think…" He deliberately lowered his voice, "You want to hear the rest, senpai?"

William didn't speak, only stared, not at Ronald but Grell's empty seat.

Feeling a bit awkward, Ronald decided to continue, "I was just saying, senpai… I believe I was wrong. I've always had the feeling that you were enjoying the freedom of being single, kind of like me… But somehow, I realized that you never wanted to be that way. So I was actually wrong about the _one-sided love_ thingy… Totally wrong."

The office fell into a 30-second long silence afterwards. It was uncertain whether William agreed with Ronald for there was neither a confession nor a denial. At last, he put an end to the conversation by gravely ordering, "Just do your job, kid…"

XXXXX

*Please forgive me for the excessive Sherlock Holmes reference occurring in this fic. Couldn't help it.

**Sorry if you don't like this setting. I just couldn't stop making him a real psycho. I mean, I like Viscount Druitt a lot and have no intention in offending him in any way. :D

***Again, this is a real place and I used the name to fit my AU only and for no other purposes.


	15. Chapter 4 Part V

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Four

File No. 666-4242

(V)

2011,4,26, 08:18pm, London, Warwick Rd.

A well-dressed gentleman stepped out of a limousine. After cautiously glancing around for a while, he bowed to speak to the person inside the car, "Young- Ah, no… I mean, my Lady, you may come out now."

"You sure nobody's watching?"

"Nope." Sebastian paused before asking rather teasingly, "Are you implying that you want to go home despite having suffered so much during _preparation_?"

"Stop that, Sebastian! I shouldn't have agreed on your plan in the first place…"

"The event is starting in any minute. You really need to come out now."

"Hold on…"

Just then, a flash of red swiftly slipped into the building.

Ciel gasped, "Sebastian, Grell Sutcliff is here. I think he's wearing a red and black night gown…"

Sebastian turned around to stare at the already empty entrance. "Why, this is interesting." He muttered.

"You know what a troublemaker he is… I don't want our plans to be screwed."

"I'm sure everything is under control. I'll bring Eric to justice and protect all the display items in the exhibition. Since you are not the only one dressed up as a girl, there is no need to feel embarrassed, young master."

"Fine! I'm comin…" Just when Ciel was about to leave his seat, he fell back again with a frightening look on his face, "Sebastian, is, is that Alan Humphries?"

Sebastian turned around again and inhaled a deep breath, "Now _that_ is unexpected… I mean, that beige dress looks surprisingly nice on him."

"What do you think they are up to?"

"Don't worry, young master. I'm sure they won't be in our way…"

Having seen Grell and Alan's outfits, Ciel began to feel less reluctant about his own look so he finally stepped out of the car, "Never mind, let's get this over with…"

"As you wish."

XXXXX

2011.4.26, 08:25pm, London, Earl's Court Exhibition Center*.

"Oh, can't you see how lovely this is!" exclaimed the Viscount as he toasted to Eric, "It's like, like a prologue played just for our stunning act of crime! You are a true genius, Eric. I, being the only person in the world who knows the pith of beauty, feel so lucky to have found an artist of my match… Let's put on the most immoral musical on the stage set just for you!"

Eric only grumbled at the over-expressive man in front of him, "Could you stop shouting everything out loud? Good that no sane man would take your words seriously."

Leaning closer to his companion, the Viscount praised, "Oh, I just can't stop admiring you, Eric! Even if you want me to expose my torso, I would not hesitate to…"

Eric quickly backed away, "Nevermind your naked body… Now why don't you tell me about that necklace in the middle of the room?" Eager to change the topic, he pointed to a display box at the center of the floor.

"O, it's _Dew of Bloody Spider Lily_."

Eric blinked as he locked his eyes on the said treasure – in a glass box surrounded by strong spotlight lied a ruby necklace bloody red as a spider lily, and crystal bright as the morning dew.

Lost in the beauty of the necklace, the Viscount added, "It's a treasure that can drive my robins crazy…"

"Robins?"

"Of course… As you probably know, I only invite guests of my class." The Viscount smiled contently at the thought of himself surrounded by graceful beauties.

"Your class?" Eric felt a sting in his heart, "Did you invite Ciel Phantomhive too?"

However, the Viscount was too spellbound by his fantasies to catch the question, "Eh? Did you say anything, Eric? Oh, they are here! I think I should go greet my little robins now. _Au revoir!_"

As the Viscount thrown himself under the bright light, a shadow was casted onto Eric's heart. _Would Ciel Phantomhive be here? I don't think he is present at the moment… Well, even if he is, he can't stop me._

XXXXX

Facing each other, Grell and Alan stood on either side of the corridor, each holding a glass of champagne.

"Now, tell me about this dress of yours…" Grell glared at Alan with a grim expression.

Alan lowered his head, looking a bit uneasy, "I must find Eric. I want him to tell me everything!"

Grell only got angrier, "Even if this is the case, you do not need to put on a dress!"

"But he'd definitely know if I came in wearing my usual clothes! I was afraid that he might do something stupid… As long as I can reach him, I don't care how humiliating this seems…"

"You think wearing a dress is humiliating? Are you mocking me?"

"Sorry. I know you are very fond of dresses… You even asked why I didn't try wearing one on the ship…"

"I was only joking!" Grell snapped before emptying his glass of champagne, "How can I possibly foresee the fact that so many people think you look cute…

Alan was stunned: _So this is why he is mad at me?_

"This is absolutely absurd! Ignoring my dress of burning seduction… Men really have incredibly bad taste. I just don't find your childish dress cute at all!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to… I don't like dress either, but to find Eric, I have to… Trust me, I didn't mean to make you look bad or anything." He walked closer to the redhead and tried to comfort him. But Grell only pushed him away and left the corridor with an empty glass in his hand. As he walked away, his 11 centimeter stiletto heels angrily tapped on the marble floor.

Grell zigzagged back into the crowd, looking a bit tipsy, but he was in fact fully conscious. However aimless he seemed, he never allowed the necklace to go out of his sight, not even a second. Grell had no idea why he wanted the necklace so much. Maybe it was because it was red? Or maybe that ruby necklace reminded him of a pathetic woman, probably the only one he had ever truly adored… He wanted to add the treasure to his deluxe collection so bad that he would not allow himself to go negligent. After walking around for some time, Grell stopped by the buffet table. The empty glass in his hand soon caught the waiter's attention:

"Mind I collect your glass, _mademoiselle_?"

"Yeah…" Something struck him as he was about to hand his glass to the waiter. _Wait, what's with this flirty attitude and the obvious US accent…_ "Ronald?"

"HOLY CRAP!" Ronald almost, yes, almost shouted out, "What on earth are you doing in this dress, Sutcliff-senpai? Hey, did, did you see what Alan-senpai was wearing? I've already had a nice shock when I tried to accost him like 3 minutes ago. And now..."

Murderous rage flamed in Grell's eyes, "Wait a sec, you said you tried to _accost_ Alan? And the reason you talked to me was only because I had an empty glass in my hand. Very well…"

"I didn't mean it, Sutcliff-sen…"Before Ronald could finish, another outrageous voice lashed out from the earphone in his right ear:

"Ronald Knox, what are you doing at the buffet table?"

"Ah, I, I…" Covering his stinging right ear, Ronald turned to Grell and explained, "It's Spears-senpai."

"Will?" The anger on Grell's face was suddenly washed away by reddening blush, "So Will is here too?"

Before the poor young man could reply, William scolded to his right ear, "I shouldn't have let you come out as a waiter if you're so easily distracted… Maybe a janitor would be a better idea since your mower look a lot like their cleaning cart."

"Please don't do that, senpai! I didn't do nothing wrong!"

On the other hand, Grell was fed up with their bickering so he lowered his mouth to whisper to Ronald's ear, "Can Will see me?"

Again, William spoke before Ronald could say anything, "Tell _that thing_ I'd be blind if I failed to spot that flamboyant gown of his."

Ronald resignedly repeated his boss's words, "He said he'd be blind if he failed to spot your flamboyant gown."

"So where is he?"

"Honestly, tell him I'm somewhere he can't find so just forget about it."

"Spears-senpai says he's somewhere you can't find so just forget about it."

Far from being satisfied, Grell moved to Ronald's left ear and asked discreetly, "Do ask one more question for me… Did he miss me after all these days?"

Ronald shivered at the question and gave the redhead a rather disgusted look, "It's been like only 3 days, Sutcliff-senpai. Go ask yourself. I don't want to voice something so intimate in public…"

"What are you talking about? This is too intimate for a playboy like you? Plus, don't you think it's extremely insulting to keep all your plans from me in the first place?"

Ronald shrugged, "Hey, I didn't make the plans myself!"

Grell furiously seized the blond by the throat, "Is this your way of talking to a senior?"

Just when Ronald was about to be strangled, all other lights went out and only the center spotlights were left on to focus on the glass container where Dew of Bloody Spider Lily rested. Viscount Druitt walked into the light and ran his hand across the glass walls like caressing the skin of a virgin. "Oh! Oh! This is unbelievable… Please look at this, my dear guests. This breathtaking wonder of the world – _Dew of Bloody Spider Lily_! Ah, look at the crimson sparkles under the crystal surface… Just like fire emerging from hell! Even the purest heart would fall for this immoral seduction!"

XXXXX

"What on earth…" Irritated, Ciel turned away to look outside the window, "Now you see why I always wanted to stay away from this psycho…"

"I understand now, young master."

"However," said Ciel, "he's got pretty good taste, despite being such a notorious man…"

"It's rare to hear you complimenting anyone, young master."

"I don't compliment people, it's just… Never mind." Ciel glanced at the crowd again and ordered, "Pay full attention, Sebastian. I want you to arrest Eric Slingby as soon as he shows up. Understood?"

"Yes, my Lord."

XXXXX

*Again, name of a real place… And I have no idea if it has got marble floor inside. :P


	16. Chapter 4 Part VI

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Four

File No. 666-4242

(VI)

2011.4.26, 10:02pm, London, Earl's Court Exhibition Center.

Fed up with the Viscount's overstated odes, Eric decided to take action. Before sweeping all the treasure away, he needed to switch off the power first. So he walked to the master switch, placed his hand on the lever before suddenly freezing when he heard a voice he both longed and feared to hear:

"Eric!"

"Alan? Why are you here?"

"Whatever you are up to, please, don't do it!"

"You don't understand, Alan."

"Then why can't you just tell me the reason, Eric?"

"Oh, whatever the reason is…" interrupted a grim voice from behind, "It's too late."

Eric turned around to find the man in black standing in the narrow hallway. "Sebastian Michaelis…?"

"You are not going anywhere, Mr. Eric."

"Catch me if you can…"

"You are confident, very, very confident." Sebastian commented as his smile gradually stilled, "However, you are also one incomprehensible man. Betraying your companions only to – "

Suddenly, all the lights went out and the whole place fell into unspeakable darkness.

Alan gripped Eric's arm, "Was that you, Eric?"

But Eric was just as shocked, "I didn't do anything!"

If Eric didn't shut the lights, who would have?

Just then, they heard a voice from the speaker that was colder than coldness itself, "Are you waiting for me to read your sins out loud, Eric Slingby?"

Eric gasped, "William…!"

"Honestly, I don't want to waste time here…From this day on you are no longer an employee of Grim Reaper Garden Tools Limited,Eric Slingby. In short, you are fired."

"No, it can't be… I need to explain this! I'll call William right now and…"

"It's no use, Alan!" said Eric, "You know how stone-hearted he is. It's over."

"True, it's going to be over _very soon_." said the devilish enemy as he crept closer, "You are a lone man now, Mr. Eric. I guess that does make my mission easier to complete."

"You are nothing but a watchdog, Sebastian. Even if I was abandoned, you still couldn't get me. To be honest, you are the one who forced me into doing this…" He then took out a remote control and pressed a button.

Within seconds, strange gas leaked out from all fire sprinklers. Those who had yet recovered from the sudden power-off were once again screaming in horror.

Sebastian knew he had to get Eric, but he heard Ciel calling him from the crowd, "Sebastian! Where are you?"

"Young master!" Sebastian realized the gas could give Ciel an asthma attack. "Damn, I should have come without him." Compared to Eric, Ciel's safety needed to be considered priority. Having made up his mind, he started shooting randomly at the spot where he assumed Eric would be as he slowly moved back into the crowd. He let out an irritated sighed when he returned to Ciel's side. "Don't be afraid, young master. It's only low concentration of thiol gas."

"Just when was I afraid?" retorted Ciel. "Did they get away again?"

"I'm terribly sorry, young master."

"Did you injure him?"

"Eh, probably not, sorry. But I promise I'll get him within the next 24 hours. I have another plan."

"You'd better be certain about that…"

"I'm very certain, my Lord."

XXXXX

The unexpected power-off stirred huge panic among the guests, but also provided the most skilled thief with a perfect stage. Soon after the lights went out, Grell found himself next to the very display box where _Dew of Bloody Spider Lily _rested. He cleared all the alerts within seconds. Now all he had to do was to open the box and the necklace would be his –

That was exactly when Eric let out the poison gas, which the redhead had never foreseen.

Ronald, who was standing by the buffets the whole time, pulled out his mower from below a table and cleared a pathway for himself to escape. "Sutcliff-senpai, I didn't bring masks with me so you'd better get out of here as soon as possible!" he shouted.

Desire to strangle the kid immediately emerged. _You brat… How could he possibly leave me here in the middle of nowhere! _The necklace of his dreams was staring at him, but he didn't' even have the strength to lift his arm. "Almost, I can almost…" However, it was a moment when all he could do was to cover his face and run for his life… Indeed he needed to protect his precious eyes from the curious gas, but at the same time, he couldn't bear seeing his prey slip away right in front of his eyes. Unfortunately, when he finally stumbled to a window, he found it locked. Not only did he lack the tools to crack the lock, but his consciousness was also gradually fading away. _The necklace is out of the question and I'm about to pass out… _It was undoubtedly the most humiliating moments of his entire life. "Damn it, am I going to…"

_CRACK!_

The window shattered into pieces as sharp debris flew all over the place. Grell felt the back of his hand slashed one of the broken pieces. Nevertheless, his pain was soon wiped away by the delight of seeing a pruning pole. His sight was a bit blurry due to his watery eyes, but he knew it was William. Then he felt a hand pushing his head out of the hole:

"Take a deep breath and hold it!"

Grell inhaled as much fresh air as he could before being dragged out of the crowd by the same hand. Heart pounding as he was possessed by a strange wave of euphoria. If he had to describe that feeling in a more concrete way, Grell would definitely say they were _eloping_…

XXXXX

2011.4.26, 10:49pm, London, Earl's Court Exhibition Center, Balcony.

Fresh air filled their lungs the moment William and Grell reached the balcony. Yet the refreshing breeze helped little to ease William's worries - when he let go of Grell's hand, he found his own palm covered with blood. "Your hand is bleeding." He managed to keep his voice calm, hiding the slightest clue of concern. "I thought you would take the hint and keep your hands off such a foolish thing." He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wrapped it around Grell's wound.

Grell noticed a strange ID card hanging on William's suit and chuckled, "Ah, so you disguised yourself as a security guard."

"Honestly, it's the _chief_ security officer."

The redhead only giggled effeminately, "Alright, alright… But I was really surprised that you were the one to switch the lights off."

"Cutting out the power might as well be the only way to shut so many people up at once. I just didn't expect the building to be so... defenseless. It took me less than five minutes to break in the control centre."

"Well, you can't blame the system when _you_ are one of the best break-in artists around, Will." Resting his head on William's shoulder, Grell contentedly sighed, "I missed you, Will."

Instead of giving a direct response, William slightly backed himself away and said, "Close your eyes."

"Eh?" Grell obediently shut his eyes, and erotic scenes instantly filled his brain. "Say, Will, don't be so abrupt…" But then he stopped... What kept him from carrying on fantasizing was not the imaginary passionate kiss from William, but a string of chillness round his neck. Grell opened his eyes to find the ruby necklace of his dreams resting on his chest. He could see the crimson deposits floating within the crystal just like fresh bloodstains.

"Will, you stole the necklace for me?"

"I didn't _steal_ it, idiot. It was you who left the box open without taking away the content. I only _took_ it." He paused to find Grell grinning ear to ear at him. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just… You _took_ it?" Grell was so amused by the serious look on William's face when he said something so damn ridiculous. Despite being smitten with the treasure, it didn't take long before a worrying thought occurred, "But you'll return it a few days later, won't you?"

Looking unexpectedly well-prepared for the question, William shook his head before leaning down and whispered to Grell's ear, "If you want to keep it so bad - nobody could tell the difference anyway, I could just returned a fake."

Blood in Grell's body boiled within a fraction of a second. _He's teasing me… Will is teasing me…_ It was too much for him. At that moment, no matter how cold and relentless William forced himself to be, every word he said would be nothing but naked flirtation. Grell could no longer hold himself back… He crushed his lips against William's without hesitating.

Heat waves flooded William's calm heart when Grell's burning lips attacked. Yet the desire to intrude the redhead's mouth only lasted a few seconds before his steel rationality took over.

Grell was lightly pushed away, even before William's tongue could enter his mouth.

"Enough, Grell Sutcliff. I'm not here to play…"

"But Will, you did all these for me… Aren't you trying to tell me that…"

"Honestly, I wasn't trying to tell you anything." William denied as sorrow emerged from inside those green eyes, "We've just fired an employee, just… lost a companion. How could I possibly be in the mood?" He turned around, looking exceptionally downcast. "Let's get out of here. Ronald Knox is waiting for us in the parking lot."

"Wait a second, Will!" Grell caught up with him and wrapped his arms around his waist, "Everything is going to be okay, Will. I mean, we're all going to be alright, aren't we?"

William lowered his head and answered coldly, "How is that even possible, idiot...?" Then he freed himself from Grell's embrace and silently walked away.

2011.4.26, 11:13pm, London, Hyde Park.

Eric and Alan finally had a chance to catch their breath. Sebastian was long out of the sight.

"Okay, we're safe now…"Feeling a sting on his side, Eric looked down to find a wound on his right arm, likely due to one of the wild bullets that flew by.

"How are you feeling, Eric?" asked Alan.

Eric snickered bitterly, "Why are you still here? Quit following me and go home. You are innocent and if anything bad happens to you, everything I did would be meaningless!"

Alan froze at Eric's words, "Eric… I've suspected that this was related to me, so it really is…?"

"I just want you to get back on your feet and…"

"Eric, I do not have an incurable disease! Why must you go to such extremes?"

"You don't understand. I want you to be free again. I mean, only after you've completely withdrawn yourself from this field can you fully recover."

"But you know the consequences!"

"I couldn't care less about that! I just want you to live a new life, a life without such a sinful occupation."

"Sinful?" Alan questioned, "So you are trying to free me from sins by sinning? Please, Eric, can you just end this?" Somehow, Alan wanted to tell him how much he liked his job, but he assumed it would be useless to bring that up now. "Just… don't commit any more crimes. I'm begging you." Then he took off his glasses.

"What are you doing, Alan?"

"Isn't it a rule that we all must put on glasses?" He took out a white handkerchief and put his frames inside, "I've broken the rules too and shall be laid off as well."

"Idiot, you didn't do nothing wrong!"

"It's not over yet, Eric!" Alan stared at his friend with sad but determined eyes. "We're still partners. I won't leave you. Let's get out of this place. Let's get out of London!"

"But," Although still a bit uncertain, Eric took off his glasses too, "am I, this unforgiving criminal, qualified to walk by your side?"

Alan shrugged, "I'm blind without my glasses. Therefore, I can no longer see your sins, Eric…" Trying not to let Eric hear him weep, Alan fixed his eyes at the glasses wrapped in the handkerchief.

_It's not over yet, is it?_

XXXXX

2011.4.27, 08:16am, London, Grim Reaper Garden Tools Ltd.

Ronald came to the office surprisingly early.

_This is unexpected…_William thought. "Ronald Knox, I thought you were already on holidays."

The blond nodded, "I'm just coming to get the rest of my stuff." The night before, William ordered him to drive Grell home before getting out of the car to return to his office, which made him wonder. "What were you doing here last night, senpai?" asked Ronald.

Instead of answering the question, the bespectacled man pulled out a piece of paper from the fax machine and handed it to him. "Read it yourself."

"Wait, isn't this Alan-senpai's…"

"Resignation letter. Alan Humphries has left."

"He's running away with Eric?"

"Don't ask me. I don't know, and don't want to know, either." William turned the back of the chair to Ronald and continued, "They are no longer my employees. I couldn't care less."

"You really think so, senpai? I mean, you sure we can go on without them?"

"Just go and enjoy your holiday. I don't need you here at the moment."

Ronald sighed and decided to surrender, yet another question popped up, "Hmm, Spears-senpai, how long does my holiday last?"

William turned around and stared at the young man. Dismay and weariness slowly shaded his green pupils, "You really want to know?"

Ronald knew something was wrong as he mechanically nodded his head.

William left his seat and continued gravely, "The holiday is as long as you wish... Isn't this something you've been waiting for? From now on, nobody would force you into doing overtime, or cut your salary, or make you wear black leather shoes… You can do whatever you like. Nobody would stop you anymore. Grim Reaper Garden Tools Limited is now shutting down indefinitely until… I don't know when. Anyway, from this day on, Ronald Knox, you are free."

_Free?_ For a moment, Ronald's brain went blank.

Just then, Grell entered the office, "I'm back, Will... Hey, Ronald, aren't you on a holiday already?"

Ronald turned around and nodded again, "Yeah. I'm about to leave, actually… O no, I'm leaving right now!" With his laptop in one hand, Ronald saluted to Grell by tapping his own forehead with two fingers, "Take care, Sutcliff-senpai!"

Grell waved in response, "Just get lost, kid." Then he turned to William.

"Honestly, I didn't expect you to come to work today."

"You just can't stop mocking me, can you, Will?"

William did not deny that. He looked away and let out a soft "tch".

On the other hand, Ronald stopped halfway and clung on the door before adding another farewell speech, "There are things that I love, senpai, but do you know what I value the most in my life?" He paused, feeling a bit awkward to admit his love for his job on such an occasion, "Anyway, I just want you to know that although the holiday does not have an explicit end, I, Ronald Knox, would be at your service whenever you need me!" That was when he suddenly returned to his cheerful self and said, "Oh, did I just say something really out of character? Okay, I'd better run and leave you two alone… Bye!"

When Ronald shut the door, the whole office fell into shivering silence that resembled the dawns awaiting the crow of a rooster. The silence lasted a few seconds before Grell remarked, "It was very generous of you to let that kid take a holiday."

"No use locking him up here when we've gone out of business." William began to make his way back to his seat, "By the way, why aren't you resting at home? You were in a pretty bad shape last night."

Grell squinted at the man and pouted, "You're weird, Will. All you know is pointing out how stupid other people are, but you have no idea that you can be exceptionally absurd at times."

"Honestly, can you move to your point more quickly? I've got work to do."

"That's exactly the problem, Will!" Grell decided to sit on William's desk in order to show that he was ranting, "You shut down the place only two minutes ago. What work could you possibly have?" He dragged William out of his office and suggested, "We should go relax ourselves a bit❤."

William wanted to say no but he failed to find a reasonable reason. Just then, his mobile started ringing, probably from a client. As soon as he took out the phone, Grell snatched it away and threw it onto the wall.

_BANG!_

The poor phone was left trembling on the floor like a dying cockroach.

"Can we just forget about work, Will?"

"Eh… You are buying me a new phone."

"Fine. But you were being stubborn!"

William didn't want to talk about the phone anymore so he adjusted his glasses and asked, "Honestly, where do you want me to go with you?"

"Well, I just want you to… Wait." Delighted, Grell leaned closer to William's face and asked, "Did you just agree to go on a date with me, Will?"

William glared at him, "Just when did I agree on anything…?"

But it was too late. The enthusiastic redhead quickly pecked William's cheek and pulled him down the steps, yelling, "Alas, Will is going on a date with me❤!"

"Again, I never said I'd go on a da… Never mind."

TBC...


	17. Chapter 4 Part VII

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Four

File No. 666-4242

(VII)

2011.4.27, 11:02am, London, London Eye.

"How flamboyant… I mean you." Overlooking London from inside the gradually rising capsule, William muttered, "This capsule is big enough to hold more than 20 people, but you insist on keeping it for private use. This is… unnecessary."

"But I want to enjoy this trip with you and you only… Do you want to be watched by a bunch of strangers on our precious date, Will?"

"Honestly, this is _NOT_ a date…!"

Luckily, Grell was too used to William's coldness to be discouraged. Quietly moving closer to the taller man next to him, Grell rested his head on William's shoulder, "It's been a while since we'd gone out like this, right?"

"Now, please don't make it sound like that we do these silly things very often."

"Will, we're the only ones left in London now."

"True…" Something suddenly popped up William's mind so he asked, "By the way, did you put the necklace away?"

"Necklace? Oh, I returned it."

Surprised by Grell's words but didn't let emotions show on his face, William blinked before responding coldly, "I thought you would keep it."

"Well, of course I wanted to do that. It was a gift from Will after all❤!"

"Like I said, I only _took_ it because it was convenient…"

Completely ignoring William's retort, Grell continued, "To be honest, I'd really love to keep it for myself. But I guess I can't do that when it does not belong to me so I sent it to the hospital just this morning."

"You sent it back to her?"

Grell nodded, "It's hers anyway… She told me it was a birthday gift from the man she loved. He once said that her hair was as beautiful as crimson spider lilies. That's why the necklace would always remind her of him… After the fire, she couldn't bear seeing the necklace again so she auctioned it. But I know she misses the necklace very much. After all, it was a gift from a loved one. What do you think, Will?"

"No comments."

"How could you, Will? Isn't it your style that every stolen treasure should be returned? Can you just say something nice❤?"

William frowned, "Please don't bring this up." He slightly pulled the edge of Grell's red coat, "You are still running everywhere in this coat. Why aren't you returning _this thing_?"

Not knowing how to plead, Grell decided to change the topic, even if it seemed quite awkward to do so, "Let's go to the movies after this, Will."

"No way."

"Why not?" Grell started swaying William's arms, pouting, "It's been ages since we've…"

"Don't even mention it! I'm fed up with those bloody horrors and idiotic romance you dragged me into watching. I would never say yes again."

As William turned down every suggestion he made, Grell's patience was wearing thin, "Then you decide where to go!"

"I don't want to go anywhere, Grell Sutcliff. I'm not in the mood."

"Do you want to go home, Will?"

William gently shook him off and answered, "Like I've said, I do not wish to go anywhere."

The capsule stopped and opened as the trip ended. Having noticed the pair arguing inside, the conductor asked, "Want another round, sir?"

William walked right out of the capsule and answered bluntly, "No, thanks."

Grell quickly caught up with William but he didn't know what to say. Walking side by side down the streets, the two were completely silent – until Grell sensed the direction they were heading and stopped to ask, "Wait, Will… Are you coming to my place?"

"Honestly, can't you see I'm walking you home? What else do you want?"

Grell had no idea if he was supposed to feel happy, "If I went home, what about you, Will?"

"I'm not downcast enough for you to worry about me, Grell Sutcliff. I can just turn around and leave if you do not wish to see me."

"Don't!" Timidly, Grell walked to William's side and took his hand, "Will, I know what happened to Alan and Eric is affecting you…"

"I'm fine."

"I know firing Eric was a difficult decision to make…"

"It's not difficult at all!" Once again, William shook Grell's hand off, but this time he seemed to be even angrier. "We've been through this. How many times have I told you that putting too much emotion in the job would only cause trouble? The more we are emotionally attached to each other, the less rational our decisions would be. That's exactly why Eric Slingby made those stupid mistakes. Firing him was the only solution I had. Every sane being would make this move. Now, Grell Sutcliff, do not assume that I cannot cope with this thing so you can comfort me… I don't need your comfort."

Grell let out a bitter smile, "You're still an incurable rationalist, Will. Just like the old days…"

"You were expecting me to change?"

"No, not at all."

"Then stop whining…" William slightly scratched his forehead, "I would not allow my emotions to go out of control, nor let anything in my life lose control. Just leave me alone for the time being, Grell Sutcliff. You should enjoy your holiday too. Farewell." He decidedly turned around, killing every desire to turn back until Grell's voice came from behind:

"I love you, Will."

William stopped, but still with his back facing Grell.

"Will, I know you wouldn't let anything go out of control." said Grell as he came to William's front to caress his nearly frozen cheeks, "You are so irresistible… I'm intoxicated by the way you locked all your emotions up, like a tyrant treating his prisoners… Will, your icy eyes are like a birdcage, and I'm captivated inside. Even if you decided to hide your feelings, you still can't stop me from falling into you."

William bit his lower lip before seizing the redhead by the ribbon tied on his neck and warned, "Enough…"

"Will, do you still remember what you wrote on the first page of your notebook? '_Even if all principle had fallen apart, I'd still curse the evil and embrace my solitude.'*_"

William was a bit stunned at the fact that Grell had kept the quote in mind for all these years, and so his grip loosened.

Seeing William less on guard, Grell clasped the hand that was pulling his ribbon in his own hands, "Will, do you still feel lonely right now?" The uncertainty in his eyes was more like a flirty hint.

Yet William let go of the redhead's ribbon before snapping, "You really think I have no idea what is going on in your mind, Grell Sutcliff? You just want me to say something emotional so you have an excuse to comfort me. But I don't have anything to say right now. You are right. I am an incurable rationalist, and rationalism is cold as ice. It would not melt, whether in the past, present or future. You will never get what you want from me so just stop trying…" He told himself that this was the last time he would turn around. After that, no matter how desperately Grell called his name, he would no longer respond…

Just then, a moist gust blew into the streets as the sky darkened. Before they knew it, downpours had hit the ground.

William stood in the rain. He was about to curse the weather when Grell held his hand again.

"Will, it's raining." He dragged the unwilling man into his flat building, "It's raining so hard outside. There's no hurry."

"I'll leave as soon as the rain stops."

"Fine…" said Grell as he rummaged around in his handbag for the key, "Why not come inside, Will?"

"No."

"Come on…" Again, the redhead pulled the soaking wet man up the stairs, "You have no idea how long the rain is going to last. You are hot as ever dripping like this but you might catch a cold, Will."

William knew he'd regret going. Yet he lacked the motivation to physically resist Grell's invitation. He didn't speak until they had reached the door, "Honestly, this stupid weather…"

Grell couldn't help but agree, "Yeah, right, damn weather…"

In fact, William could've just grabbed an umbrella and leave the place, but for some reason, he didn't.

2011.4.27, 12:51pm, London, Grell Sutcliff's flat.

"Will..." asked Grell as he came out from the bathroom with the hair dryer, "Wanna dry your hair?"

Before William could reply, a blow of warm air had run up to his forehead. "I can do it myself." Irritated, he snatched the dryer from Grell and started drying his clothes and hair.

Grell stood beside him as William's bangs became messier, a wide grin slowly stretched across his face.

William's heart began to feel a bit itchy at Grell's expressions, "Honestly, wipe that weird smile off your face."

"I kinda liked your old hair style. Why stick with the lousy gel?"

"Your hair was not this long back then. Never saw you cut it short…"

Grell couldn't help giggling, covering his mouth with a hand, "If I cut my hair short, you wouldn't be able to pull it from afar, Will."

It was too good an explanation to object. So William simply gave up talking.

When the hair dryer was turned off, the whole room fell into silence. Then Grell's cell phone rang. It was from Ronald.

"Sutcliff-senpai!" Ronald sounded like the world was coming to an end, "Why isn't Spears-senpai answering his calls? Did something happen to him? Do you know where he is?"

"Ah, that's because…" Grell glimpsed at William, "I broke his phone… But he's with me at the moment so no need to worry!"

William immediately rose, "Honestly, don't make things sound so ambiguous. Let me talk to him." He implied that he wanted the phone.

"Fine, fine, fine… Talk to him instead." Grell sighed before handing his phone to Willian.

William took the phone and quickly explained, "I'm only staying at his place because it's raining outside. Anyway, why are you calling?"

"Do you want to know where Eric-senpai and Alan-senpai are going?"

"You are the one who's calling. You won't hang up just because I say no, which means my answer doesn't really matter."

Ronald was silent for a few seconds before giving the answer, "They bought two 2:30 tickets to Glasgow Central, senpai. They are heading for Scotland."

"Scotland… But that's none of my business. They can go anywhere they want."

"They are going to be okay, right?"

"Honestly, if you're so concerned, you could just stalk them."

"Well, it's too late now because… I'm boarding the plane in just a few minutes."

"Where to?"

Ronald smirked, "Aha, I'm not gonna tell you anything in case you show up from nowhere to drag me back to work."

"Honestly…" William wanted to teach that kid a lesson but he just let him off. "Anyway, take care."

"Thanks, Boss." Then the youngster hung up.

Grell leaned closer to ask, "What did he say, Will?"

William shook his head and lied on the sofa, "Nothing much… But I guess you're right about the fact that we are the only ones left in London now."

Grell didn't speak as his sad eyebrows knitted into an even sadder knot.

William lightly seized the redhead by a strand of his hair, "Don't give me that look. You were pretty cheerful just a moment ago." As he spoke, he began to curiously explore Grell's cell phone. "Okay, tell me why the HQ snapshot of that half-naked bastard is no longer your wallpaper?"

"Well, that was like ages ago…" Grell moved to the side of the sofa and folded his arms around William's shoulders, "I've changed my wallpaper a long time ago❤."

"Right…" William looked closer at the picture (which was also the wallpaper of his late mobile phone): the rising sun, Grell's flying red hair, the smell of ocean, the motorbike…

"Will, I just want to tell you how much I love…"

"I know that." Almost instantly, William realized that the conversation was going into some unknown dungeon which he could foresee all the awkwardness ahead. His worries were not unnecessary because the redhead did try to go deeper by asking:

"So does Will feel the sa…"

William promptly cut him off by ordering, "Just go and take a rest. You definitely need it."

"But I'm not tired at all! Plus, who goes to bed in the middle of the day?" At first, Grell thought the infamous scene seen in soap where a guy and a girl end up having sex after being stuck in the same room because of rain was going to happen on himself. Everything felt like an ultimate miracle before he realized that his target was completely soap-proofed. It was still unclear how long the rain would last. Grell figured he needed a way to kill time.

Just when he was brainstorming, William turned on the Xbox and asked, "You bored?"

"Eh? Are you inviting me to play video games with you?"

"Well, I just thought something bad would happen if I failed to find a way to shut you up…"

Screaming in joy, Grell jumped onto William's lap, "Ah, you're the best, Will!"

XXXXX

*This is not taken from the direct translation of the lyrics from William's second character song. However, it does refer to some lines in that song.

(And sorry for the late update. I've been busy and lazy… Thank you all for reading & reviewing & adding me or this fic as favorites ^_^)


	18. Chapter 4 Part VIII

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Four

File No. 666-4242

(VIII)

2011.4.27, 03:44pm, Calendonian Sleeper (London-Glasgow).

It had been an hour since they got on the train. Alan tried hard to appear less weary than he actually was, but he couldn't hide anything from Eric's eyes.

"I shouldn't have planned this trip if I knew you would feel so uncomfortable…" said Eric as he rubbed his own temple, "You are innocent, Alan. You shouldn't have come with a criminal in the first place."

"Stop that, Eric." Alan turned his face to the window, holding his tears, "I, I'm fine…"

Somehow, Eric sensed the change in his companion's voice, "Are you crying, Alan?"

"Of course not! I'm _not_ crying…" Suddenly, Alan pointed outside, "Look, Eric, the flowers…"

Eric followed the direction of Alan's finger – it was a spectacular scene to see as thousands of erica blossoms piled up and formed huge violet waves across the field. Staring at the ocean of flowers, he asked, "So that's what you were talking about last time?"

Alan nodded, "And its language is… loneliness."

"Loneliness?"

"Yeah, isn't that what life is all about? I mean, from the moment you were born till the moment you leave this world, you are always alone." Alan's voice grew weaker and weaker as he continued, "And we can't change it."

Eric let out a chuckle.

Alan turned around, "What is it, Eric? You don't think that's true?"

Eric only shook his head, "Remember what I said about you being too sentimental? What's with this 'loneliness'? It is probably true that you are alone in the beginning and the end of your life. But it's the journey that really matters, isn't it? And look at the flowers blooming in groups! You might feel lonely at times but you'll always have someone beside you… Forever."

"Thank you, Eric." Alan let out a soft sigh as his eyebrows knitted into a frown, "But you know, Eric, I keep having this feeling that something terrible is going to happen to us… soon!"

"Don't do this to yourself, Alan. How could you take these feelings seriously? Whatever happens, as long as I'm with you, there's nothing to be afraid of."

Alan nodded but uncertainty was still all there was left in his delicate eyes.

At that moment, Eric didn't have the courage to let out a sound. He was afraid that once he spoke, Alan could sense that he was just as uncertain and maybe, frightened as himself.

The breeze slowed down and dropped the flying petals onto the wilderness far away from the erica ocean.

The train continued on its tracks.

XXXXX

2011.4.27*, 07:03pm, London, Grell Sutcliff's Flat.

William opened his eyes.

_Did I just fall asleep? Wait, it's seven already?_

It was dark outside and the rain seemed to have stopped a long time ago.

"Honestly, falling asleep in the middle of a video game…" William froze before he could finish, for he realized that Grell was lying on his chest. Astonished, he quickly reproduced the scene before they passed out:

_We were sitting on the sofa playing video game. We were tired and it was also the trillionth time we've beat the final boss. We might have fallen asleep during the end credits… Wait, but that doesn't explain why this thing is on me! Okay, he did it on purpose… He definitely did this on purpose…_

Pissed-off, he took Grell's mobile and banged it on the other's forehead.

Still holding William's shirt tight, Grell hopped up and asked, "Eh? Was I asleep?"

"Get off me."

That was when Grell saw their suspicious position - it only took him a fraction of a second to start fantasizing the whole process in a completely different fashion, "Ah… You did hold me tight when I fell asleep, Wi–" His hair was seized by an angry hand.

"Hold you? It was you who intentionally… Honestly!"

"It hurts, Will! Stop it…" begged the redhead.

Realizing that he might have indeed pulled too hard, William let go of Grell.

Grasping the tiny time gap, Grell hopped up and pecked William's forehead.

William reluctantly backed away, "Enough, Grell Sutcliff!"

Yet Grell threw an even more penetrating question to him, "Do you love me, Will?"

"Stop fooling around."

"You are always like this, Will…" Grell lightly clutch onto William's necktie, trying to untie it, but his hands were soon clamped by William's. Knowing he was again rejected, he asked impatiently, "What do you want, Will?"

"I want you to stop this! My patience is wearing thin, Grell Sutcliff. Just let me go." Swiftly unlocking himself from Grell's hold, William took his coat and left for the door.

"Will!"

"The rain has stopped. It's time for me to go."

"You are really leaving?"

"Do I look like I'm not?" Without turning back, William hurried down the stairs.

Still barefoot, Grell anxiously followed him, "Will, can you stay… please?"

"Idiot, just stop asking. I don't want to argue with you."

"But I don't want you to leave… Will, please don't go."

William stopped by a street lamp outside the building.

"Will, we are the only two left in London now… Everyone else is gone. I just don't want to say goodbye to you right now. Will, please…"

"You're naïve…After all, we are no ordinary working-class folks. We live a risky life, and you should have seen this coming."

"But we have always been… The two of us were together long before that! You and I were never parted and we're always with each other! Why leaving now?"

William's heart missed a beat: _Always with each other? He might be right but I think he over-interpreted something…_

Walking down the wet pedestrian way with not shoes, Grell stood closely behind William before embracing the taller man from the back and whispered, "I love you, Will."

Hearing this, William lowered his head and ran his index finger across the bandaged wound on the back of Grell's hand. "Idiot…" _I never expected him to be so stubborn, so annoying, so… devoted._

_You know that you are the love of my life, Will…_

For more than once, an idiot asked William whether he loved him. The stoic man never directly gave him a reply. He never admitted, but never denied anything either.

_You could've just let someone love you, which is so much easier than waiting for the man you love to come to you… Nevertheless, I chose the most difficult path. That's why I was lost in the labyrinth of love…_

William's subconscious could have been telling him how much he wanted to stay close to Grell by not letting him answer the question Grell asked. He always used the nuisance Grell caused to convince himself that he had never fallen for the redhead.

_I guess that's because you actually want to be with me, right, Will?_

Looking back, William realized that if he really had no feelings for Grell, an irreversible cold war could've long started between them. Yet all they did was going to different extremes just to provoke and torture the other… Why?

_You should just tell me, Will. Tell me that you too…_

William took a deep breath before sighing out his last request, "Say that again… Say that again and I'll stay."

Grell's eyes widened, "Will, do you mean…" Then he realized what William wanted him to do - "Will, I love –" But his lips were captures by William's before the last word could come out. A wave of erotic heat roared through their bloodstreams from the tip of their tongues, lighting up fire in both hearts. Grell felt like his soul was going to soar out of his body. His hands found their way onto William's waist, or maybe lower, before they were placed back to where they were.

They both felt that they've wasted so much time waiting for this moment that when love burst their hearts, they were also overwhelmed with regret.

As their tongues embraced each other in desperate joy, Grell felt William's arms tightly wrapped around his waist. No matter how much he struggled, he just couldn't free himself… But it was not like he wanted to get away. He indeed enjoyed it more than he could express.

In fact, other than this idiot with flirty red hair, William T. Spears never gave himself a second choice.

William scoop Grell in his arms and went up the stairs.

A truck drove by and ran over some puddles, splashing water onto the walkway. When the street was quite again, no one was seen below the street lamp anymore.

XXXXX

2011.4.27, 07:19pm, Glasgow, Glasgow Central.

The moment Eric and Alan got off the train, they both realized the same thing: _Feelings do come true._

"Nice to see you here." greeted Sebastian Michaelis, the man who promised to put Eric to justice no matter what.

Eric knew exactly what Sebastian came for, "You think you can get me by ambushing _here_? Don't you remember how many times you've failed?"

"You're right, I was holding back too much. That's why you could get away." Sebastian smirked, "However, you don't stand a chance here." He took out his gun. "I thought I didn't hit the target last night. However, the fact that you are holding your luggage with your left hand and the unnatural gesture of your right arm just proved that my marksmanship isn't so bad after all."

With his injury obvious to his enemy's keen eyes, Eric knew how unfavorable the situation was to him. "How dare you pretending to be some righteous hero? Aren't your hands stained by evil filth? So are those of Earl Phantomhive! Plus, Grim Reapers and Funtom Corporation always went different ways. Why must you go this far just to –"

"Right again!" Sebastian snapped his fingers, "I know I'm an unforgiving fallen soul. Yet you seemed to have forgotten one thing, Mr. Eric. You, and Mr. Alan, are no longer 'Grim Reapers'… It would be humiliating if I failed to arrest you today!"

"Too bad, Sebastian, because you're going to disappoint your boss again!" Then, Eric made an unexpected move. He dumped his suitcase, shook off Alan, ran into an empty cab and began turning the steering wheel like mad. _I'm doomed to be punished. That's why I wouldn't mind adding a murder charge under my name!_ "Sebastian Michaelis, this is either my end or _yours_!"

At first, Eric heard Alan calling his name.

He saw Alan running toward the car.

He heard a bump.

Then Alan disappeared.

Only a few images were left playing in Eric's brain like a discontinuous film. It was enough to give him a nervous breakdown. Eric could never recall how he got out of the car because all his memories froze from the moment he saw a bloodstained Alan lying in front of the car.

_Wasn't it Sebastian the man I was about hit? Why was Alan lying there? Did I hit Alan?_

Now, with Alan, who was barely breathing, in his arms, Eric's body trembled in horror, "Alan?"

"E, Eric… Please, please don't make the same mistakes again…" After that, Alan closed his eyes.

Almost immediately, Eric experienced a blackout… He even saw how Alan's heart went from pounding weakly to stop beating. _Right, Alan's heart stopped beating… in my arms…_ One single fact remained in Eric's mind: _I killed Alan**._

XXXXX

*Yes I assigned that date on purpose.

**[SPOILER WARNING]No, he didn't. Nobody dies in my fic.

P.S. If you are interested, here is a drawing I did for this chapter a long time ago: www！pixiv！net/member_illust！php?mode=medium&illust_id=19850128(!→.)


	19. Chapter 5 Part I

**A/N: I am terribly sorry for the late update. Hopefully, I'll update the final chapter faster, just to compensate for the inconvenience of my readers caused by my intolerable laziness. I hope the new chapter can refresh your memories about this silly piece of crack I've written. ;) Thank you.**

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Five

File No. 1799-1889

(I)

2011.4.28, 08:22am, London, Grell Sutcliff's Flat.

Before Grell opened his eyes, he was afraid that everything was only a mirage. He was afraid to find the space next to him empty, and all that had happened the night before was nothing but his hallucinations. He was uncertain of what to do next, but the more he resisted his eyelids from opening, the more eager he wanted to know the truth… He believed he was already insane.

However, this time, he was blessed.

The arm of another reached out from under the sheet and wrapped around Grell's waist. It felt so familiar and intimate, just like last night…

Grell opened his eyes. He could barely see anything clearly without his glasses, but he just couldn't be more certain about the man lying right beside him, "Will?"

"I was wondering why my cell phone alarm went silent, but then I remembered that you'd already turned that poor thing into a piece of junk by throwing it onto the wall. And I assume you never even set an alarm in your phone, am I right?"

_Great, what an amusing opening for the morning…_

Grell quickly turned around to retort but he misestimated the distance between them and their foreheads hit each other. It was a moment when their faces were so close that there was barely any space in between.

William sealed Grell's lips with a quick kiss.

Grell instantly took a deep breath.

"Okay, I think you're over-reacting again." William remarked, "Just like last night."

Grell finally learnt how breathtakingly unbearable it was to be orally flirted by William. "That's because I didn't expect you to go so rough on me!" He bumped his head onto William's chest as some sort of physical revenge to his provocation.

"Grell!" William seized the redhead by the wrist. "You just can't behave for even a single moment, can you? I haven't mentioned how skillful you were last night – so skillful that almost made me suspect where you got all the experience from…"

Grell passionately locked William's lips before he could finish.

It appeared that they still had the energy to replay the erotic climax of the night before.

Nevertheless, William pushed Grell onto the bed only to make room for himself to get up. "Good morning, and…" He clutched the redhead's hand and ordered, "Get up."

Wrapping the sheet around himself like a cocoon, Grell was dragged to the edge of the bed, whining, "Ah… Please don't…"

"Fine. Sleep all you want then." After putting on his own glasses, William handed the pair of red frames to his partner.

Still in bed, Grell put on his glasses as quickly as possible because he wanted to carve every detail of the room at this moment onto his brain cortex. The first item that entered his now perfect sight was the huge Sebastian poster on the floor, and the two opening on the poor man's eyes created by an angry pruning pole. Grell began laughing hysterically as he recalled the events of the previous night, "Ahaha… Will, you were so… Haha, last night…" He pointed to the holes, "I can't believe you just tore the poster off the wall and stabbed through Sebby's eyes like that, haha…"

William lightly punched the joyful redhead, just to prove he was still sulking, "What's so funny about this? Don't you feel like being watched by this bastard every time you enter the room? Or you actually want the whole process to be watched by this pair of filthy eyes? You really don't feel weird at all?" He paused for a few seconds before adding, "Maybe it's because pervy you doesn't mind being watched at all!"

"You're just jealous, Will❤."

"No, I'm not." Denying, William left Grell in bed and went for the bathroom.

Grell didn't want William to leave him so he hopped out of bed, still barefoot, wanting to catch up with William. Unfortunately, he didn't notice the TV remote was shaken onto the ground by their intense activity on the night before and accidentally stepped on it. Immediately he lost his balance and fell before William caught him in his arms.

Once again, their faces were so close.

As their lips embraced, the two fell back onto the bed in each other's arms.

Maybe they were still a little bit unsatisfied even after last night.

Just when they were about to replay the climax, they were interrupted by a stranger's voice - "_Good morning and welcome to the morning news!_"

"Honestly, did you just step on the remote?"

"Just leave it there. A little background soundtrack wouldn't be a problem… C'mon, Will, I'm ready…"

Of course, the television went on talking regardless of what its audiences were doing, _"A series of explosions struck London this morning and caused a number of deaths and injuries. The police have eliminated the possibility of terrorist attacks. Investigation is ongoing. Here are details from…"_

William's bathrobe was thrown onto the floor.

"_The explosions showed a highly recognizable pattern. The first one happened around midnight whereas the final explosion took place around 4am. The affected districts include…"_

Grell bit William's shoulder, leaving a tiny lovebite.

"_Shops were burnt to the ground. One of the most severely damaged buildings, which was also believed to be the source of one of the explosions is…"_

"Ah… Will…"

"Shut up!"

Grell shut his mouth. Yes, William told him to stop talking, but that was not relevant to their half-way through process.

"Did you hear the name of the place?" William asked.

Grel blinked blankly and answered, "I think one of the explosions happened in…"

As if just woken from a nightmare, the two hastily separated and stared at the TV screen: it was that familiar street, that familiar entrance, that familiar yet completely unrecognizable… office.

The news struck them like karma for all the romance they had enjoyed the night before.

Grell's tongue turned so stiff that he could barely produce a coherent sentence, "Will, that's… We were, no, our office was…"

"Bombed." William didn't tremble when he answered. Yet the way his fingers pinned into the bed sheet indicated that he had almost lost his balance at the news.

Grell folded his lover in his arms and kissed his chin, expressing condolences.

_Who could have done something like this?_

_The explosions happened from midnight to the early morning, which means it was not anyone's life that the bombers were after._

_The company was shut down the day before and everyone has already left, not to mention nobody needs to go to work today. So there is no way the bombers could tempt anyone into showing up at the crime scene in their favor._

William actually began to feel thankful for Eric Slingby, who contributed the most to the fall of "Grim Reapers".

The only problem was: why was bomb placed right inside their headquarters? It was only among a dozen other explosions, but it still appeared to be unusually suspicious.

"They said that the police are investigating now…" Grell let out a quiet sigh, "I know we can never go back to the old days, never… But seeing how the place has turned into ruins is still too…" He couldn't continue. It hurt too much.

William turned around, cupping Grell's face as he muttered, "It's okay. Who cares whether the office is bombed… I no longer need to feed five mouths anyway. Listen, Grell Sutcliff, as long as the two of us are still alive, 'Grim Reapers' will not disappear."

"Will…" Moved, Grell pulled William into a deep kiss. Another bad news was that neither of them had the mood to go on with what they had been doing before, at least not now.

Their lips parted, but their foreheads were still pressed against each other.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking now, Grell Sutcliff?"

"Oh? You'd better make yourself clear, Will."

"I was saying…" William opened his arms and let Grell fall into his embrace, "Let's find the culprit."

"Oops, looks like someone made my Will angry…"Grell sniggered.

"Stop it. Just tell me if you are thinking what I'm thinking."

"Do you mean just the two of us, Will?"

"Just the two of us."

"Like the old days?"

"Right, like the old - Hold on… Exactly how long ago are you talking about?"

"Ah, forgetful Will… It was our first night!"

William's eyebrows mechanically twitched at the statement, "Okay, that was a night I had always wanted to forget."

"How cruel… But you know what? My body still remembers every single detail of it! Oh, the way you penetrated my body from above and below and the front and the back… I, I almost broke!"

"Honestly, don't exaggerate it."

The old days were in fact not so old. As the past faded with time, it was also refreshed by constant recalls of the old days. Their early years were not so far away on the timeline, but for the two of them, it felt like they've known each other for ages. The magic of love could have slowed down the flow of time, or maybe it was the habitual fights and bickering that gave them this illusional impression. No matter what the true reason was, William and Grell would always remember the past they shared together…


	20. Chapter 5 Part II

**A/N: I know it has been ages since my last update. I'm so sorry. But now I have finally got the time to settle for proofreading my own translations. I am sincerely sorry, guys. Thank you for still coming in to read my crappy little chapter that is largely based on our beloved OVA "The Story of Will the Grim Reaper". (=w=)**

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Five

File No. 1799-1889

(II)

**-Flashback-**

2006.9.16, 11:15pm, London, Criterion Theatre.

Back then, William T. Spears was an ordinary student who was indifferent towards social activities, which made him as inconspicuous in other people's eyes as others were in his. Yet he couldn't care less about that - he was never interested in having much emotional connection with the outside world.

He was just a helpless rationalist.

Compared to the sensitive features of interpersonal relationships, he was more spellbound by orders that do not change over time, such as the order of celestial bodies. If the world could function in a consistent manner, like stars in the universe, it would definitely be his heaven. Unfortunately, things did not usually go the way he had expected them to.

It was another ordinary evening. William walked past the garden outside the library and came to the Criterion Theatre. He thought nobody would be inside until he saw a beam of dim light coming out from a window above and heard a voice:

"And will he not come again?

And will he not come again?

No, no, he is dead:

Go to thy death-bed:

He never will come again."

William knew it was Ophelia's last words from _Hamlet_, Act 4 Scene 5.

The person inside went on:

"His beard was as white as snow,

All flaxen was his poll:

He is gone, he is gone…"

Suddenly, the voice stopped.

William suspected that the actor had forgotten the lines.

As expected, the voice inside began to repeat the previous lines:

"He is gone, he is gone…"

Again, he stopped.

William couldn't be more certain by now. His inborn urge to correct others was so severe that it would seem almost neurotic. In other words, when William T Spears thought he was right about something, there was no way anyone could change his mind. Now, he was 100% sure that the man inside had forgotten the last few sentences, so he decided to continue for him:

"And we cast away moan:

God ha' mercy on his soul!

And of all Christian souls, I pray God. God buy

you."

After successfully ending Ophelia's part, William quietly waited for the other to respond, but the man seemed to have gone silent for some time.

Eventually, the window on the second floor flipped open and a redhead popped out asking, "Who was that?"

William lifted his head to look up – he knew this guy with bright red hair, "So it's Mr. Grell Sutcliff up there… Sorry for interrupting."

That night, Grell was red from head to toe.

"Tch, don't you dare strike a conversation with a lady like that, nerd…" The aggressiveness that contradicted Grell's "lady" declaration seemed so awkward that only a man like William could keep from bursting into laughter.

"I was not trying to strike a conversation…" corrected the bespectacled man, "I was only helping you with the lines."

"Just when did I ask you to do so?" Grell was so angry that he jumped onto the window sill and pointed a sword (which was apparently a prop) at William, "Just when would I, Grell Sutcliff, forget my lines? I can remember every single line from every character of _Hamlet_! You thought I had forgotten my lines? Don't make me laugh, you self-important toy boy!"

A spark of anger struck William's heart when he heard Grell's insults, but he managed to retain his composure. "Then I must have made a mistake. I apologize, Mr. Grell Sutcliff." He bowed to the redhead and was about to leave.

But Grell stopped him, "How did you know my name?"

With a few blinks, William answered emotionlessly, "How? Wasn't it you who published an article named… '_A Report on the Possibilities for Transsexuals to Regain Reproductive Ability'_ in the school journal and received tons of critics from ethic professors? Moreover, you shouldn't be surprised that I know the name of a school celebrity like you, Mr. Grell Sutcliff."

Grell smirked as if William was complimenting him. The red coat, pink bowtie, and a window on the second floor, all these elements, whether relevant or not, somehow made William felt like he was some knight in a shining armor who was singing his love confession to a princess up in a castle. However, any hint of romance was shattered when the princess was nothing but a redhead freak. So he put away his abrupt imagination and asked, "Are you rehearsing here because the drama society is preparing to play _Hamlet_, Mr. Grell Sutcliff?"

"Is this all you can see, idiot?" Still swinging his fake sword in the air, Grell answered, "No wonder you cannot understand my pursuits: the world is a stage and I am the actress! Love is the tangles between men and women, no, it should be the passion and hatred between men and men only! Can't you see, this is how an outstanding actress performs self-exploration and improves her skills! Everything starts from the heart and does not depend on any outside motivation! Never mind, it's useless talking about an art of the most novel nature in front of someone who apparently suffers from facioplegia." Grell withdrew his sword when he finished, like a warrior who had justified his ownership of a piece of land.

On the other hand, William was totally pissed off without showing his feelings on the face. "I see. I must have made a mistake. Sorry about that." William nodded again, inwardly pressing his anger.

Grell only shrugged with a shade of despise in his eyes, "Never mind. I need no apology as long as nuisance like you stays as far away from me as you can…"

William was obviously no opposed to this idea, "You've been very kind, Mr. Grell Sutcliff." Then he turned around and left, but was once again stopped by Grell's call:

"Wait a second, are you the guy who drowns yourself in the library all day but still can't get away from you pathetic straight Bs? William T Spears, that's your name, right?"

_I was remembered for getting straight Bs, fantastic… _Despite feeling exceptionally humiliated, a rationalist should not deny the truth so William answered calmly, "I'm afraid yes…"

"And you are also one of the editors of our school magazine. I heard that you had turned down the works of a certain individual - Thomas Wallis, that's his name, quite a few times."

William let out an undetected snicker: _Weren't you the one who was criticizing him all the time? You even said "It's fair to say that this broke, untalented and unpopular brat is only fantasizing of becoming famous by what, having dreams? Anyway, he's nothing but a joke." If it weren't for your harsh critics, we might have given that unfortunate man a chance._ Yet William didn't say his thoughts out loud, only responded matter-of-factly, "As a member of the editor board, I'm afraid I cannot reveal more details on how we judge a manuscript. Sorry."

"Tch, is obeying the rules all you know, _Glasses_?"

_Glasses? Aren't you wearing glasses yourself as well?_ Retorting silently in his mind, William decided to say farewell to this guy once and for all, "I'm afraid I should leave now… If there's nothing more you are interested about…"

"Just roll away. I know you already." Grell gave him with a final glare, "Don't you dare talk behind my back! Otherwise you will regret!"

"I know." William truly wanted to teleport to somewhere else now, "I really need to go, Mr. Grell Sutcliff. See you."

After William disappeared into the darkness, Grell shut the window and went on lingering with Shakespeare.

Even before he had turned around and left, William was already thinking about kicking that freak into the Thames so he could drown to his death just like Ophelia did. But that shade of red just stayed in his brain and wouldn't fade away… Ever.

_He did look good in that coat though… Honestly, I need to stop thinking about him as soon as possible…_

It was definitely not a pleasant encounter.

2006.12.16, 11:08pm, London, St. James Square Garden.

In fact, the unpleasant meeting with Grell did not change William T Spears's track of life. _An egoist he is… Bullying everyone around him just because he has triple As in one single subject… He thinks he's the queen or something?_ William didn't like the guy, but he didn't bother thinking about him much either. He thought that was the end of the story between them, until this day…

That night, William left London Library, walked into St. James Square Garden, and under the darkness of the night, got crashed onto the ground by a dashing redhead.

"William T Spears, you really think I don't know what you've done?"

Clueless, William stared at the raging man, "I'm afraid I have no idea what you're…"

"Don't you dare try to cover up your ass!" The anger in Grell's eyes was burning his green irises red, "Just because you are one of the editors doesn't mean you can abuse your power against _me_!"

"Against you?" That was when William remembered something: Thomas Wallis had always wanted to publish his stories on their journal but never succeeded. However, just a few weeks ago, his latest work caught Grell's nit-picking eyes. Grell did not only like his work, but also wrote a recommendation letter to the editors. Unfortunately, a certain member of the board would rather die than publishing Thomas's story. So Thomas's request was again turned down. The news has not reached the poor man yet, but undoubtedly, that certain stubborn editor was William T Spears.

"We really don't have the room to publish any more articles. I'm sorry about the fact that he cannot realize his dream but…"

Grell forced William onto the ground and yelled, "Oh, shut up you lousy nerd! As if I'm going to forgive you… Pleading like this…"

_Pleading? Just when did I plead? What the hell is going on in this guy's brain?_

"If it weren't for a close-minded paranoid like you, the journal would have expanded to give Wallis more room! Most importantly…" Seizing William by his necktie, Grell showed his shark-like teeth that were as sharp and shiny as the blade of a guillotine, "No one ever says _no_ to Grell Sutcliff and you should know that! Now I want this story published but you are on my way! You _are_ asking me to teach you a lesson, aren't you?"

William couldn't help but think: _Is this guy insane? Thomas Wallis's writings didn't worth a shilling to you before and now you're suddenly showing compassion for him because of some clichéd romance he wrote?_

"If I'm not mistaken, Mr. Grell Sutcliff, you must be the 'beautiful Grim Reaper with red hair' that appeared in Thomas Wallis's story, right?"

"So what? You think he was exaggerating?"

_Honestly, you need to be naïve enough to be fawned so easily…_

"Well, I can't say he's exaggerating, but don't you think the plot of the story is a little bit too…" _Cheesy?_ "I mean, don't you find the story a little unreasonable? How could a stoic Grim Reaper ever sacrifice his own life to save a human girl who would eventually end up in a pine box anyway? Moreover, the name of the main character is…"

"Ah, I know now!" Grell interrupted, "What really bothers you is the name 'Will', right? It must be it! So what's with all these noble reasons? You were the one who took it personally! You're bias! Okay, I'm definitely writing a complaint letter to the board."

"Let me tell you the truth, Mr. Grell Sutcliff. I don't mind you complaining, but you can't change my mind once I've made a decision."

"Now there's nothing I hate more than a hypocrite like you!" As his anger reached the peak, Grell seized William's throat with one hand and took out a pair of crimson scissors with the other, "Let me just scrape your sham, sham mask to pieces–" His voice died down within a fraction of a second, for his wrist was suddenly caught in William's firm hand.

Grell would never forget the murderous rage he saw in William's eyes…

"Are you done, Grell Sutcliff?"

William's strong hand pressed into Grell's pulse, and that also, unexpectedly, gave the redhead's heart a nice tackle…

"Eh? What…"

Before Grell could remember, he, who was dominating the whole situation just a minute ago, was unarmed and forced onto the trunk of a tree. He could not recall how William did that.

"Wha, what are you doin–"

William caught the redhead's throat without hesitation, "I've had enough."

_Wow, that was stimulatingly cold…_

"You really think I'm just some nobody you see every day?" William wanted to seize the redhead by his hair but gave up the thought since his hair was way too short. He decided to smack Grell's head onto the trunk instead, "You think I was afraid of you? You really think me, William T Spears, is one of those ordinary folks who could get only Bs and nothing more?"

"Ah…"

"Shut up." Will gave Grell's chest a nice elbow attack and continued, "What's the point of getting triple As when all you need to pass is a B? Plus, I was intentionally keeping a low profile just to stay away from an egocentric piece of trash like you!"

_Trash? He called me "trash"? How cruel… in a good way._

"I must admit, you are the first one who has ever made me this angry…" Forcing Grell's hands to his back, William pinned the redhead onto the ground, "I would not give you another chance to step over me."

Just then, a question appeared in William's mind: _Since when did this idiot stop fighting back?_

That was a good question because Grell was extremely mad before he went silent all of a sudden.

William let go of the redhead and gave him a light push, "Hey, you…"

On his knees, Grell has yet formed a coherent sentence for his whole body had just been flooded by a sort of heat wave that he had never experienced before… For so many years, he had longed to meet someone who can give him the taste of the most extreme cold-bloodedness. Unfortunately, he had not met the man who could make his soul tremble… Until now. Now, the man of his dreams was finally standing right in front of him. _Oh, this handsome cold man… He hid his extraordinary power behind his emotionless face._ Once begun, the feeling electrified every vein in his body and couldn't be stopped at all! Grell knew the name of that feeling… The feeling of _love_…

He, Grell Sutcliff, fell in love with this man - William T Spears.

William was totally amazed by how Grell ended up looking as bashful and timid as some lovesick maiden, "Honestly, it's late… Never mind what had happened tonight. I should go now." He then abandoned the redhead and left.

Still on his knees, Grell felt his cheeks burning. When William left, he could do nothing but mutter like a lovelorn girl, "He left… Oh…" Then he lost balance and fell on his back.

Nevertheless, it was not the end of William's unlucky evening… Not yet. He had only moved a few steps forward when he heard a voice from his side, "Excuse me. Are you Mr. Spears?"

William turned around, "Thomas Wallis?"

The man nodded, "I just, just want to ask whether my story would be published..."

_Great, now he is asking me in person. How should I answer him? _"I'm sorry, Thomas Wallis, but your article is rejected."

At that moment, a creepy breeze blew across the park.

"But, but Mr. Grell said his recommendation letter would definitely…"

William found the argument extremely funny: _It has nothing to do with the letter. The problem lies in the name of the main character, but I'm never going to tell you that._

"So I'm rejected? Again?" Thomas's head hung lower and lower, "Is it true that my articles are doomed to be turned down?"

Seeing the poor guy in such a hopeless state, William didn't feel like giving him another blow so he only walked up to him and said, "It's okay. Try again next…" His glasses were knocked down before he could finish.

Now, all William could see was mist. "My glasses..." He began to search for his spectacles everywhere. It was one of the few times in William's life when he was unusually vulnerable. He suffered another punch in the meantime but the glasses were still nowhere to be found.

"What's with this guy… How did he turn so aggressive all of a sudden?" Just then, William realized that he acted in a similar way just moments ago… _No, we are not the same! The situation I had to face was totally different from Thomas's!_ "Honestly, where did my glasses go…"

Thomas move closer and clutched William's throat, "Why… Why can't you just give me a chance…"

William could not see anything. All he knew was that he was losing his breathe, "Wait, wait a… Uhh… You are now…"

Yet Thomas lashed out again for no reason, "What were you saying?" It seemed that he wouldn't let go of William until he had squeezed the last breath out of him.

It was a critical moment of William's life when a shade red, without warning, swiftly flew across William's blurred sight like a meteor – "Don't you dare touch MY MAN otherwise I'd just beat you to your DEATH!"

Thomas's silhouette was cleared from William's eyes.

"Okay… What's going on?" William still haven't found his glasses.

After hearing a series of punches and kicks, the shade of red moved back to the front of William as he put William's glasses back in place and said, "Do take good care of your glasses, Will."

_Will…?_

William felt a strange throb in his heart but for some reason, he didn't feel like correcting Grell at that time.

Turning back to check on the beaten up Thomas, Grell scolded, "Don't you dare hunting down my man like that!"

Goosebumps instantly occupied William's skin, "Wait, since when did I become _your man_?" _What does this guy want from me?_

Instead of answering, Grell threw himself into William's arms like a bride, "Oh, I can't believe Will and I are fighting on the same side here… It's like, like our _first cooperation_ on the wedding night!"

"Again, what's with the _our_…"

"Ah, cold men are just wonderful! I'd never forget this passionate evening of intense battle alongside my Will!"

"Now would you please watch your mouth? _Wedding night_? Honestly..." Nevertheless, William had to admit that this redhead saved him at a vital moment. Yet admitting this fact just cast a shade of inerasable humiliation on his pride, which meant that having been saved by this man of unknown sexuality was definitely THE ONLY TAINT IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE.

That night, William decided to never let his glasses fall again. Never again!

Ever since then, William did feel his life was tangled with Grell's. Whether he was going to get new glasses or to the library, Grell would always "accidentally" show up on his way. William gradually realized that he seemed to be the only one that could somehow control Grell Sutcliff… Seriously, just how much did Grell like him? He couldn't remember when he let down his guard to allow this redhead into his life. He could only recall how cautious he had become in order to prevent something like what had happened _that night_ from happening again. He couldn't remember the day he started to use hair gel – his persistence in absolute order must have reached an indescribable stage that he needed to find order even in his hairstyle. William didn't think he had changed too much because of Grell. Nevertheless, Grell never cut his hair after that night…

_Karma… It felt like karma…_

**-End of Flashback-**


	21. Chapter 5 Part III

**A/N: *headwall* Sorry about the late update but I haven't forgotten about this fic! I know what kind of crack I'm capable of producing but I hope you enjoy my manipulation of the doomsday book arc. :p (Also, thank you all so much for subscribing!)**

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Five

File No. 1799-1889

(III)

2011.4.29, 09:54am, London, St. James Square Garden.

Revisiting their memorable place, both William and Grell were slightly amazed by the unreachable flow of time.

"Hey, Will." Resting his head on William's shoulder, Grell sucked from a cup of raspberry juice, "You remember this spot?"

"Of course I do, idiot…" Putting his palm on the trunk, William asked, "Remember how your head was smashed into this thing?"

Mentally replaying the scenes from that night, Grell let out a light giggle, "Well, I can't believe it took me so many years to be, you know, penetrated by you… I mean _for real_."

A frown formed on William's face at the redhead's suggestive words, "It's only been a few years. I don't see why it appears so unbelievable to you. It's not like we got stuck with each other for as long as 90 years or something…"

"I just want you to know that I've been yours ever since that evening❤."

"Okay, we need to end this conversation. We've got work to do today; otherwise we wouldn't be here in the first place." William ranted on as Grell passed the cup of juice to him, "I've told you to buy two cups, but I have no idea why you insisted on getting one cup and two straws instead…"

"But it's more romantic to share the same cup of drink."

"It's awkward and ridiculous." While William was sucking on one straw, Grell leaned closer and bit the tip of the other one.

The two silently sat under the shade.

When the cup was empty, William put it away from his mouth and leaned forward to plant a quick kiss to Grell's lips.

Flushed by William's sudden kiss, Grell drew a deep breath to calm himself down before asking, "Will, when I heard the news, the first suspect that came up to my mind was Sebby. How come you said he was unlikely?"

"I know exactly what Funtom Corp. can and is willing to do. However, I don't think they would do something so, say, indirect?" William alertly glanced around as he spoke, "That's why I think someone was trying to pin the crime on Funtom Corp. They want us to believe that Funtom Corp. was the culprit and stir up a fight between us. If we fall into the trap, both we and Funtom Corp. would lose, and this unknown third-party would be the final winner… Therefore before I figure out who's behind this conspiracy, I need a face-to-face meeting with Sebastian Michaelis today."

Reliable information showed that Sebastian was still in Glasgow until this morning. William was certain that Eric and Alan were already kept in captivity, but no further details were available yet. What drove Sebastian back to London was an incident involving his master. Just this morning, Ciel Phantomhive was kidnapped on his way to the royal wedding. William knew Sebastian would immediately arrive at London to save his boss. Therefore when he learnt that the ransom was brought into the London Library by a transvestite, William knew Sebastian would show up.

The pair stood under the tree and watched a limousine stop in front of the library.

"He is here, Will."

"Okay, I guess I need to clarify something first." William warned as he slightly pinched Grell's back from behind, "I let you deal with that bastard alone because he is not as cautious as he would be when I'm present. However, this does not mean you can flirt with him all you wa –"

"Understood, Sir❤!" Grell cut his sentenced and added, "You really know me too well, dear."

"Honestly, you weren't listening, were you?"

Unfortunately, it was too late since Grell had already switched himself to the right mode, "Okay, I'm going now!" He left a peck on William's face before he set off to confront Sebastian.

Watching the redhead skip away from him, William felt his cheeks burning for unexplainable reasons.

XXXXX

The moment Sebastian exited the car, he felt a stream of coldness running down his spine. He knew that feeling did not come out of nowhere, especially when a familiar redhead was running toward him.

"Long time no see, Sebby! Do give me a nice French kiss. Quick…"

Sebastian swiftly dodged and asked, "What are you doing here, ?"

"Waiting for my prince to take me to his castle in a limousine, of course❤!"

Emotionless, Sebastian objected, "Sorry, . I'm busy now."

"Oh, so you know where Angela Brown hid the kid?"

Sebastian stopped and turned around, "I'm assuming you are offering a helping hand? That was unexpected."

"Well, I'm not stupid so don't expect anything from me. However…" Grell took out a library staff card (which belonged to William) and swung it before Sebastian's eyes, "do you think you know more about the inside of the library than I do?"

What Grell was doing was undoubtedly suspicious, but Sebastian couldn't see much harm in bringing company into the library, "Guess I'll let you be my guide then, ."

XXXXX

2011.4.29, 10:29am, London, London Library, Art Room.

"There are only a few rooms that need booking before entering. If the kidnapper wanted to hide, it's likely that he would choose one of these rooms." Grell explained as he opened the door of the art room, "So, let's begin here!"

"That's very kind of you, ." Despite showing his gratitude, Sebastian remained skeptical, "It struck me that you'd probably fantasized a list of unreasonable conditions which I need to fulfill for you after I find my young master. I hope I'm wrong." To be honest, he would not be surprised if Grell asked him for another French kiss in return at the end of the day, provided that Ciel was sound and safe.

Grell snickered at the comment, "If you really want to pay me back, Sebby, I wouldn't mind. Really❤." He leaned on the door of the room and gestured, "Just get in. I won't disturb you."

"So you are colder to me than usual, but remained attracted by me. How am I supposed to react to this?"

"You'd better figure out how to save the guy who gives you cheques first."

With a final stare at the redhead, Sebastian dashed into the room.

A brunette walked out from behind a shelf when Sebastian's entrance stirred up some noise. "Did you book this room, sir?"

Sebastian shook his head, "No. Is this a requirement?"

The maiden smiled and answered, "Yes, some rooms in the library need to be booked before you use them. This is one of them. I'm a staff here so I can go in and out all I want." Judging from how Sebastian was dressed, it was likely that he had just completed a long journey. So the girl asked, "I assume you're a visitor who has just arrived here in London, sir?"

Sebastian couldn't help but smile, with dark reasons in his head: _She couldn't even recognize my London accent? Good, this woman is easy to fool._ Just then, he spotted a strand of white hair on the girl's shoulder – pure white hair. _So she's involved with Angela Brown. Possibly a planted agent here in the library. Sweet, let's start from here…_ Sebastian quickly drafted a plan in his mind as he lowered his upper body and asked politely, "How clever… In fact, this is my first trip here. Please forgive me for been completely ignorant about the rules." Suddenly, he leaned closer to the girl's face and whispered to her delicate ears with his heart-melting voice, "Yet there's still one thing I don't understand: why is an attractive lady like you working in such a dull place?"

The girl was totally freaked out by the sudden shortening of distance between their faces and was slightly trembling with her cheeks painted pink.

Sebastian took a quick look at her staff card and saw the name on it. "Ah, so your name is Matilda? What a beautiful name. Not to mention the acronym 'MS' is my own going backwards. What a coincidence!" Knowing the girl was gradually drowning in rapid heartbeats, Sebastian handed her the last straw, "I've got so many questions to ask… Could you please give me a hand?"

With her ruby lips quivering, the girl nodded, "Su, sure…"

"That's very kind of you…" A cold grin stretched across Sebastian's face.

XXXXX

2011.4.29, 10:34am, London, London Library, corridor.

"Ah… Ah, no… Do stop… It's, it's dirty…"

"How, how could it be…"

Pleads, together with loud moans, almost drove Grell into the vortex of insanity. He regretted that he let Sebastian enter the bathroom with that girl. However, his even bigger regret was that he bugged Sebastian and had to listen to the whole process in the name of information collecting. What he got himself into was nothing but catastrophic ear porn.

"Damn… How I want to end that woman's life by emptying all her bank accounts…" Grell muttered to himself while venting his anger by biting his ribbon. In fact, he wanted to rip all the cables and stomp all the bugs into pieces more than anything else. _This is intolerable, unforgiving… No use balancing the pros and cons. Let's just do it!_ He took off his earphones, and gathered all his equipment for the rubbish bin before his arms were smacked by the tip of a pruning pole. Everything fell onto the floor before Grell lifted his head and gasped, "Will!"

"Honestly, the itch in my head does exist for a reason, huh?" Picking up some of the wrecks on the floor, William said, "From how red your cheeks are and the fact that you nearly threw away all your equipment, I assume it's time for me to step in." However, his tongue froze the second he put one of the earphones in his ear…

The radio porn was still being broadcast live: "Oh, I can see it… I can see the gate to heaven…!"

William glared at the redhead and asked, "Since when?"

Grell bit his lower lip and answered, "Fifteen minutes or so ago, I guess?"

William went mute again.

The pair stared into each other's eyes as they continued to share a pair of earphones to listen to the adult radio drama starring Sebastian Michaelis.

"So this is why you seemed so… bothered." said William coldly.

Grell knew this conversation was going somewhere so he explained, nervously blushing, "That ordinary woman was apparently no match for Sebby! How could they get to this stage so quickly?" Then he realized William's eyes were locked on him. "Oh, Will, I didn't mean anything… I was only thinking… Okay, I think this is not helping. Anyway, anyway, I never thought about doing that with Sebastian so…"

_Damn, I should stop explaining already…_

To Grell's surprise, William's reaction was unexpectedly calm, "Never mind. What else have you got? I mean really _important_ information."

"_Important_ information? Ah, I just learnt that Sebby can reach _that stage_ really, really quickly!"

That comment just pushed William beyond his limits - "Enough." He gripped Grell's hair and scolded, "You've wasted both of our time without getting anything back, and now you're telling me how good that bastard is?"

"Will, don't…" Grell clutched William's collar and added, "He's not as fantastic as you are…"

"You can't be hoping that I'd let you go like this."

"I am _not_ lying!" Grell wrapped his arms around William's neck, "I've recorded the whole process. You'll know that I am telling the truth when you listen to the soundtrack again…"

"Don't you dare lie to me."

"Why would I lie to you?" Grell knew William would be the last one to admit that he was jealous even if it was just that obvious. So instead of explaining, he leaned closer to kiss William's lips.

"Hold on…" William slightly pushed Grell away while still resting his hand on Grell's waist, "We are working, Grell Sutcliff."

"So what? Sebby's already in _that stage_ anyway…"

"Enough. I don't want to hear about him again. Not from you."

Before Grell could speak again, a current of harsh electronic noises beeped into their ears through the earphones. The two quickly took them off.

William turned around to find Sebastian exiting the washroom.

"I knew things weren't as simple as they seemed." Sebastian took off a bug that was no bigger than the tip of a pin from his collar, "I didn't want to admit this but it seems that our minds do think alike. Unfortunately, if two bugs were placed too close to each other, their signals would interfere… I was too careless to have let you bug me, but that wouldn't happen again." After that, Sebastian squeezed the bug into debris between his fingers.

William mentally mocked: _Who cares whether it happens again or not? We've got the whole process recorded already. Just wait till I upload it onto the Internet…_

As if William was saying his thoughts aloud, Grell couldn't stop snickering.

Sebastian, who had no idea why the pair remained silent, asked, "So you two really slept together?"

"What?"

"Oh, sorry. I was trying to ask the reason why you came to see me. It's definitely _not_ about my young master, I presume?" Sebastian placed a hand on his side, indicating the weapon under his coat, "I've been extremely busy lately so it'd be really helpful if we could finish up once and for all."

Going straight into the core of discussion was exactly what William wanted, "You've probably heard that our headquarters was bombed into ruins."

"Of course. I've not heard such reassuring news in years." Sebastian smirked, "I was thinking about how to get rid of you five after the previous case. Then I realized that somebody had done it for me in an even more destructive fashion."

"So it wasn't you."

"I've told you that my young master is more interested in ending you on the open battlefield. Lower-class tricks like mass arson really aren't our type." He paused before continuing, "Can't you see someone is trying to set me up?"

"You deserve whatever your enemies do to you." remarked William. He really didn't give a damn about Sebastian's reputation. He was more interested in ruining it, in fact.

"Being cursed by you in the early morning is certainly a refreshing start." Sebastian feigned a smile as he bowed to the pair, "I must excuse myself since young master is still missing."

"So you still have no idea where he is?" asked the spectacled man with a pruning pole.

"I've already bugged a woman believed to be Angela Brown's understrapper. I'm sure I'll find them soon. Thanks for caring."

"Like I really do care…" William adjusted his glasses and shook his head, "I just don't find the situation overly optimistic when you happen to know so little about this building."

"So you know where they are, ?"

It was the time for William to officially announce his possession of the staff card, "I used to work here when I was young. You can't be more familiar with this place than I do. After all, I'm an honored member of the library. No way am I letting a nasty kidnapper make trouble in this solemn place."

Sebastian sighed, more irritated than reassured, "It seems impossible to get rid of you two now… Fine, then please show me the way, Grim Reapers."


	22. Chapter 5 Part IV

**A/N: I want to thank all of you who continued to review and follow this fic although I must admit I have left it aside for waaaaaay to long! It's now the holiday season and I'm free from academic burdens. I will try to update as often as possible. This final chapter has 10 parts in total and I will speed up my proofreading process! Again, very sorry for leaving you guys waiting. I really appreciate your support for this fic!**

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Five

File No. 1799-1889

(IV)

2011.4.29, 11:06am, London, London Library, Lightwell Reading Room.

When Sebastian kicked the door open, it seemed to be too late –

Angela Brown was sitting on the fence of the fourth story of the room with a fainted Ciel in her arms. There was also a laptop beside her. She sneered when the three entered the room, "_Just_ in time, people… Or not."

"Free my young master, you transvestite!"

"Honestly, is this the best you can do?" Adjusting his glasses with a pruning pole, William opened his memo and read, "Angela Brown, a.k.a. Ash Landers, gender unclear, likely a transvestite. I assume the reason this individual kidnapped Ciel Phantomhive is related to money laundering?"

"I suppose so…" Sebastian nodded, "Young master's fingerprints are the only keys to the treasure box of Funtom Corp., that's why this weirdo decided to kidnap him. This person once asked the late Earl Phantomhive to do the same thing but was turned down. I suspect he is also the one behind the murder of my young master's parents. Vengeance, isn't it? I never expected my young master to fall into the same hands again. It appears that I was wrong." He placed his index finger on the trigger and aimed at Angela.

Despite being targeted by a lethal weapon, Angela seemed exceptionally relaxed, "Now, the filthiness is being purified into innocence… I'm sure nobody wants to touch money stained with gore and crime, and Ciel is no exception."

"Just shut up already!" Sebastian shouted, "Free my young master or I'll blow your brains!"

"Don't be stupid." William interrupted, "Even if you can get the hostage back by force, the transferring process has already started and cannot be reversed. The worst case is that you failed to catch her alive and Funtom Corp. would be responsible for all the black money in your accounts."

"Very true." smiled Angela, "Let me fill Funtom Corp. with the purest money on Earth!"

It was a moment when Sebastian was unsure what to do. _I can't let her wash money through our company…_ "What should I do now, young master?" He whispered to himself.

Right at that moment, to everyone's surprise, Ciel, with his eyes still closed, bestowed his pistol on Angela's temple as he ordered coldly, "Let me go."

Angela froze at the child's move.

Ciel warned impatiently when he caught Angela in shock, "I'll blow your brains otherwise."

Immediately, Angela pushed Ciel off her laps – Ciel fell straight down from the fourth story.

"Young master!" Sebastian dashed forward and caught Ciel in his arms.

"Sebastian…" Not yet fully conscious, Ciel gathered his energy for some scolding, "Where have you been? What took you so long? Look at all this mess…"

Sebastian did not hurry to retort, "Well, young master, it was you who was so _bold_… You'd get hurt if nobody was here to catch you. But…" He couldn't help smiling, "You did show me something I never expected. You are truly my young master."

Despite the loss of hostage, Angela still had her plan B. Standing on the fence with a ghoul-like stare, she cursed, "What an impure mind, just like your thickheaded parents… How terrible, how decadent, how filthy, how dark! Putting me through such humiliation… I should never have been easy on you! Let me end you right here!"

"Very well!" Sebastian hid Ciel behind himself and lifted his gun again, "Let me be your opponent."

William, who had been watching aside the whole time, found the situation the most unpleasant. "Honestly, starting a gun fight in the newly-built reading room… I must put a stop to such unacceptable chaos. Let's join the fight, Grell Sutcliff." He tossed another pruning pole into Grell's hands.

Grell was hyped up the second he receive his weapon, "Oh, yes! Aww, fighting alongside Will and Sebby at the same time, this is like, like THREESOME! Alas, the gate of battle is open!"

The fight was about to break out when a familiar low voice interrupted, "Okay, okay, can you guys wait till I've made my way to the shelves?" Undertaker walked across the room with a cart filled with books, unalarmed by anything that had been going on at the scene. Soon, he stopped in front of a shelf and starting putting books back to where they belonged.

"Undertaker?" exclaimed Ciel.

Undertaker turned around and waved to them, "Hi."

Grell stared at the grey man and asked, "Wait, aren't you the guy who sold us safes?" Then he remembered seeing this man's face once in the past. "Wait a second! Do, do you mind if I take a look at your face…" Just when the redhead was about to charge towards Undertaker, William seized him by the hair and snapped:

"Aren't you being a bit too active today?"

Just when everyone's attention was drawn away by Undertaker's sudden appearance, Angela had made her move as a helicopter approached the skylight of the room. "Since you are all so busy at the moment, I guess I should excuse myself and enjoy the result of this breathtaking ritual."

That was when Ciel realized that the laptop was still in Angela's possession, "Sebastian, you can't let that bastard run away with my laptop!"

"As you wish…"

Angela burst into wild laughter, "Sebastian Michaelis, an understrapper like you is no match for me! You really think all I have left is an escape rope?" A pair of cold glare beamed from her eyes, "Why don't you shut your mouth and listen… Listen very carefully… In this very room…"

Everyone went silent.

_Listen? Listen to what?_

Tick, tuck, tick, tuck –

_A clock?_

William gravely muttered, "No good, it's a time bomb."

Grell looked around, "Right here?"

William wrapping one arm around Grell's shoulder and whispered, "Seems so." _The sound is too clear to come from a distant location._ William started to look for suspicious corners of the room.

Tick, tuck, tick, tuck –

Certain that she had won the game, Angela chuckled, "I've told you, you are no match for me! Decadents like you would never understand my glorious purposes!"

Sebastian lowered himself and suggested to the boy next to him, "It's too dangerous for you to stay, young master. I shall get you out right now."

"No way!" Ciel freed himself from Sebastian, "Just forget about the bomb already! We've already been fooled once by those two _Reapers_ and it felt terrible. We have had enough and shall not be fooled again! Sebastian, you must stop the helicopter first! That is your priority!"

"But young master, how can I leave you in a room with a time bomb?"

Tick, tuck, tick, tuck –

"Do you want me to repeat my orders?"

Tick, tuck, tick, tuck –

"How can I possibly…"

While the two were arguing, William stretched his pole and lifted a dark box from a garbage can at the end of the room. "Hiding the bomb on the bottom floor... Seems like her intention is to blow up the whole building."

"Tch…" Grell bit his lower lip and murmured, "Will, we are no professional when it comes to bomb dismantling."

"That is not a problem." William seemed to know exactly what to do, "Since _that man_ is here, there is no need to worry." Lifting the box up with his death scythe, William slowly moved it across the room and finally placing the bomb on Undertaker's laps. "Mind I hand this to you, senior?"

Reluctantly raising his head to stared at the ticking metal box, the grey man sighed, "You are indeed annoying, William. I was only here to return some books…"

"The bomb would go off in 5 minutes. Not a good time to act like a passer-by."

"I know, I know…" answered the Undertaker, not really paying attention to others as he began going through his pocket, "Where is it? Where is it…"

"What is he looking for, Will?" asked Grell.

"I guess some secret gadgets hidden on the 'Legendary Grim Reaper'…" answered William.

"Ah, gotcha!" Overjoyed, Undertaker took out something from his pant pocket – "The legendary pink screwdriver! Hehehe, lovely, isn't it?"

"Dismantling the bomb with only a screwdriver?" said Ciel, "That's just ridiculous."

"Oh, certainly. What an honor to be complimented by you, earl. Now would you please leave me and bomb alone so you guys can take care of the rest of the mess quickly? Hehehe…"

Undertaker was right because Angela was already climbing into the helicopter through the skylight. "Sebastian Michaelis, you are nothing but a watchdog! You are doomed to be crawling on the foul ground, pathetically sniffing for carrion… Defeating the purest and brightest soul for you is nothing but a fantasy!"

Outraged, Sebastian was determined to put an end to all the nonsense, "Quiet, you self-important freak! You think you can be some sort of angel just by flying into the midair dressed in white? Guess what, even if you had wings, I could still shoot you down without trouble!" He then pulled the trigger.

_BANG!_ – The rope on one side of the ladder was shot and broken.

Angela was not yet inside the helicopter and could only swing on what was left of the ladder.

Yet the helicopter was still going up slowly.

That was when William found the right moment to strike, "The rotor wings, Grell Sutcliff!"

"Why, the target is the spinning wings? What an enthusiastic shooting game of DEATH!" Positioning his pole forward like he had done it a million times before, Grell shot his weapon out of the skylight and into the air.

_SHOO!_

Both his and William's weapons hit the blades at the same time.

"Gotcha!" shouted Grell.

With the wings damaged, the helicopter struggled to stay in the air but ended up falling quickly towards the ground. The pathetic machine finally landed on the park outside of the library. Luckily, no pedestrian was hurt.

Interestingly, because everyone was so confident about Undertaker's abilities, no one stayed to cheer for him even after he had successfully dismantled the bomb. Lucky for them, Undertaker didn't mind the lack of attention; otherwise world peace would be an even tougher question to ask.

Nevertheless, the problem that had been bothering William and Grell remained. The sudden kidnap was resolved, but not the conflict between Funtom Corp. and Grim Reapers…

XXXXX

2011.4.29, 11:55am, London, St. James Square Garden.

"Young master, the wedding has begun and we need to get you to Westminster Abbey as quickly as possible. Otherwise the Queen would blame us and it would not be pretty…"

Sebastian was about to get on the car himself when the blade of William's pruning pole stopped him. "Sebastian Michaelis, there's one more thing I need to ask you about."

Sebastian didn't speak, silently agreeing to wait. In fact, he knew exactly what the bespectacled man wanted to know.

"Are Eric Slingby and Alan Humphries in your hands?"

Sebastian widened his eyes, pretending to be in shock, "Oh, didn't expect you to cover their ass even at this point. I thought they are no longer your employees."

"That's not what I meant. I have no intention in making excuses for what had happened. I was just…" He paused, "I just want to know how they are doing right now. Dead or alive, there's got to be an answer."

Sebastian replied, "Well, you don't need to worry about that. Mr. Eric is physically in perfect shape despite some serious mental breakdowns. As for Mr. Alan, you should have faith in modern medicine. He's not going to die so easily. Trust me, since you two were a great help today, I promise I'd take _good care_ of them."

"Like I'd believe you!" Grell made a step forward and yelled, "What sort of answer is this? What have you done to them?"

"Hold on, weren't you the one who wanted to chop Mr. Eric in half the other day, Mr. Grell? I didn't know you were so attached to them."

"Enough." William placed a hand on Grell's shoulder and moved to the front, pointing the sharp end of his pole at Sebastian's jaw, "If you've been honest with us, I bet they are still alive and under 24-hour surveillance, right?"

"Close enough." Sebastian sensed the change of air and decided to end their conversation with feigned words of comfort, "Mr. William, I understand that you have not yet cleared your subordinates out of your mind, but I trust that you know more about Eric's sins than I do. Considering Mr. Alan's critical condition at the moment, I've decided to take it easy on them and have not yet officially arrested Mr. Eric. Nevertheless, I don't want to be faced with any new problem. You are a wise man, Mr. William, and I know you can make the right decision concerning this matter." Sebastian then shut the door for Ciel and moved into the front seat. Before leaving, he rolled down the window to warn the two Reapers again, "I just thought it would be better to let you two know that for a number of times, they've tried to escape from me. But the result is clear, as I have stated just now. Consider this a warning for you both. No matter what happens, I'd not let you take Eric Slingby away from my control. Farewell."

The limousine left the street and rushed to the prince's wedding.

William and Grell stood on the pedestrian way, speechless.

Grell squeezed William's hand and asked, "What should we do now, Will?"

Lowering his head to meet the frowning brows of his lover, William found the seemingly sympathy-seeking expressions on Grell's face. Stroking his lover's cascade of red hair, he pecked Grell's forehead and answered, "I need some time to figure out a plan before moving on."

Grell lifted his arms and cupped William's face in his palms, "So you are really going to do something about this, Will?"

"I'll tell you everything as soon as I've come up with a plan."

"Sure." Grell placed a quick kiss on William's lips.

At last, William held the redhead's hand and said, "Let's get out of here."


	23. Chapter 5 Part V

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Five

File No. 1799-1889

(V)

2011.4.29, 08:27pm, London, Grell Sutcliff's Flat.

William and Grell lied face to face in the bathtub. Bubbles poppedon their fingertips, and the aroma of roses lingered in the air.

Grell rested the back of his head on the edge of the tub, exhausted. His cheeks were burning red, "You almost broke me, Will." He let out a sated sigh.

"Honestly, you need to stop whining. If you weren't screaming for my…" William paused awkwardly before putting his glasses back on, as if a clearer view could somehow reduce the embarrassment he drew upon himself for muttering that very sentence. "You were being very vocal. Don't even pretend you didn't enjoy it."

"You mean I asked for it?" Grell pouted as he threw a splash of warm water onto William's face, "You are impossible, Will."

William put up a hand to shield his glasses but it was too late, "Think before you act… It's not the first time you got water all over the place. You are going to clean it up. I won't do it for you." William reluctantly took his glasses off to wipe them dry as he spoke.

Sinking back into the tub, Grell went on with his ranting, "You are always bullying me, Will. Always bullying me…"

"I have zero interest in retorting." William decided to ignore Grell for the time being and started going through his letters, which he dropped on the countertop earlier. "Letters from the bank, beauty salon coupons, and what is this…when did you start subscribing to car magazines?"

Grell sat up and answered rather excitedly, "Because I want a new car." She put her hands on William's knees and asked expectantly, "Would you buy me one❤?"

"Not in a million years… Well, not before you buy me a new phone. I can't share a phone with you forever."

"You are so cold, Will, as always." Grell fell back again and submerged his limbs in the water, "What's the big deal with sharing a phone? We are always together anyway"

"You are purposely ignoring the flaw of such an arrangement." William finally came to the last note in his hands, "By the way, this is from your next-door neighbors."

"Oh? What did they say?"

"_Dear Mr. Sutcliff, could you please lower the volume when you watch porn next time? I'd be the most grateful. Sincerely. Your Neighbor_. This doesn't make any sense. Since when did we watch porn at all?" He stopped when he realized that Grell was shaking with his mouth covered, trying hard not to laugh out loud.

"Oh my blind, blind William." He giggled, "It's true that we never watched porn here, instead, we act it out LIVE…" He kept on laughing as his foot began wandering at the bottom of the tub.

Alerted, William lifted Grell's foot from the water and remarked, obviously flustered, "Well, like I said, you were too loud."

"I was loud because you were brutal."

"Upon your request, remember? Honestly…"

Grell was silent for a while, since William was, after all, speaking the truth. Without glasses, his green eyes shone glamorously in the dim yellow light. As he slowly crawled to William's side, he was pulled into the taller man's arms and held close to William's warm chest. Grell found himself gradually losing breath, "Please, Will, not so tight."

"Aren't you an expert in holding your breath?"

"I guess you're right about that, but still…"

Grell's sentence was cut off when William cupped his face and crushed their lips together, his tongue thrashing into the redhead's mouth.

Overwhelmed by William's sudden act of intimacy, Grell quickly melted into his lover's cold, cold eyes… It felt like lying on the bed of a queen but being treated like a convicted felon, if you know what that even means. The right amount of pain and torture could easily excite him, especially when they were brought by a man who wouldn't waste time in flowery lines or subtle gestures. Sometimes, Grell found it hard to believe that he was finally stuck with William – he thought it would cost his whole life to chase after this merciless man. Grell had always found William's hidden brutality irresistible. It was the sort of violence that worked like ecstasy. Grell was addicted the first time he tried and had been abusing it ever since. At that very moment, he was entirely drowned in William's heated lips and could only pick up a few irrelevant thoughts from her spinning brain.

When they broke the kiss, neither felt it was enough.

Water dripped from William's bangs and fell on the tip of Grell's nose.

"I love you, Will."

William pressed a long kiss on Grell's forehead before he slowly moved his lips all the way down to the end of his chin. He had never expected himself to want Grell so much that he was in fact quite stunned by his own desires. Luckily, he soon got used to it.

The two briefly broke away from each other to relax in the cooling water.

Moments like these always made William uneasy, "Shouldn't we be discussing something more serious now?"

"Don't spoil the fun, Will." Grell leaned forward to bestow a few more kisses on William's jaw.

William slightly moved away from him, "I'm serious. I don't care whether the arson had anything to do with the Phantomhive family. I just want to find the culprit as soon as possible and make them pay."

"Tell me your plans, Will."

"I do have something in mind, but it would be difficult to carry out if it's just the two of us." William adjusted his glasses and said, "We need to get the brat back."

"But isn't he on vacation now? It's been only two days!"

"The arson came out of nowhere so we don't have time to argue. We must move ahead of our enemies, otherwise our headquarters would be destroyed for nothing!"

Before Grell could say anything, his phone started ringing.

William picked it up and frowned, "This is strange. We're just talking about him… Let's hear what Ronald Knox has to say." He then answered the call, "Hello?"

"Ah, Sutcliff-senpai…"

"No, it's me." William corrected, giving an "I told you" look to Grell. It was that awkward moment when the caller had no idea that you were sharing a mobile phone with your partner.

To William's surprise, Ronald didn't sound like his cheerful self. "Oh, so it's Spears-senpai…"

William sensed the misery from his voice, "What's wrong, Ronald Knox?"

"Senpai, remember this moment…" Ronald's voice was trembling, "8:35pm, April 29th, 2011…"

William took a glimpse at the time on the phone – it was 8:38pm already. "What happened?"

"It's…" Ronald, who William had never seen crying, sobbed, "It's Alan-senpai's…time of death."

William shivered.

Grell, who was trying to listen to the conversation by William's shoulder, noticed his lover's strange expression and asked, "What is it, Will?"

That was when Ronald hung up.

Slowly moving the phone away from his ear, William murmured, "Alan Humphries is dead."

XXXXX

2011.4.29, 08:39pm, Glasgow, Glasgow Royal Infirmary ICU.

Technically speaking, Ronald was not present in that room. Nobody knew exactly where he was at that moment but it was not important. Hanging up the phone without a warning was only because he didn't want William to hear him weep. Ronald Knox never considered himself to be a warm-hearted or even a kind person, but he did have feelings. It was a moment when he realized that Funtom Corp. might have deliberately weakened the hospital's firewall so that _he_ could hack into their monitors to witness Alan's final moment.

He hated Funtom Corp.

He wanted to turn the computer off but he didn't. Eric wouldn't know that someone else was watching from a distant computer screen but it could make Ronald feel less guilty about not being able to save them. If he did shut the computer down, Eric would truly be alone and helpless.

"Alan-senpai is…dead?"

He couldn't process.

_He was still alive when he was brought into the hospital and he managed to hold on till this day! Just why… Why did his heart stop in the middle of an angiogram? What were the doctors thinking? Why do an angiogram now? Did Funtom Corp. bribe them or something? He was sound and stable before that! Just why…_

The doctors didn't pronounce Alan's death immediately. Instead, they put him on bypass so as to find out the reason why his heart stopped. Yet just 10 minutes ago, they gave up. The bypass machine was turned off. They didn't even inform Eric about their attempt to rescue Alan, but merely told him the news and left to watch the rerun of the British royal wedding.

They were Reapers, deprived of the happiness of ordinary citizens, even on the big day when Prince William got married.

Ronald stared at the screen. His glasses were foggy.

Eric sat by Alan's bedside. His eyes were empty as a black hole, as if his soul was sucked away into an unseen void. He had not had a minute of sound sleep ever since Alan was admitted into the hospital. Eric knew quite clearly that he could not escape from Funtom Corp., but at least, he could to see Alan recover in safety. He was almost certain that he killed Alan when he saw him lying in his arms, bleeding. Even though Alan never left the ICU, at least he was still alive… At least there was a chance that he would wake up…until now.

That last hope has been shattered.

Alan looked as if he was only sleeping.

Ever since his heart stopped, doctors had given up monitoring his heart rate and BP so nothing was shown on the screen beside them. The bypass machine was turned off as well. All there was left in the room was the sound of a ticking clock.

"Alan…" Eric held Alan's hand in his._ He is still warm…_ He held more tightly as if by doing so, he could sustain Alan's body temperature, or even Alan's life, for a few more moments. Tears rolled down his cheeks, slipping through the gaps between his fingers and fell onto the back of Alan's hand before melting into the bed sheet.

_It's over._

"Alan… Alan…" Eric wept by Alan's side. He couldn't scream. He was too exhausted.

Suddenly, he remembered a promise he made to Alan. Back when Alan first learnt that he had a heart defect, he was in low spirits for a long time. That was when Eric joked that if Alan died before him, he would bestow a kiss on his friend's cold, cold cheek.

"_What a romantic way to leave the world, right?"_

"_That is a lame joke, Eric-senpai…" but Alan couldn't help smiling._

Eric could still remember Alan's smile from that moment.

He just never saw this day coming.

What was worse, it was not Alan's curable heart defect that killed him, but _Eric_ himself. If he didn't hit Alan, none of this would have happened, be it the angiogram or the endless surgeries… Nothing would have happened. It was _him_ who killed Alan.

_God is a jerk…_

Eric never let Sebastian find out about the pistol he hid in his shoe. It was originally a backup plan in case he lost his other gun. He never thought it would one day be his only escape from reality… True, after kissing Alan, Eric Slingby would no longer exist in this world. He would not let Funtom Corp. arrest him, nor let Sebastian Michaelis take away what was left of his dignity.

Staring at Alan's motionless face, Eric stroke the brunette's hair before lowering his head to place a kiss on his cheek.

_It's over._

Kneeling by Alan's bed, Eric reached for the pistol in his shoe. "Wait for me, Alan." He was broken from the inside. He couldn't help but sob as he buried his face in Alan's shoulder. "Alan…" He closed his eyes, not daring to look at the young man again.

He placed the gun to his temple.

_William, Grell, Ronald, I am so sorry, but I must go now. Farewell…_

"Alan, I'm coming…" He put his finger on the trigger.

_I'm ready to leave._

Just then, a finger found its way onto the back of Eric's hand.

Eric's heart trembled. Then, he heard a voice that he thought he would never ever hear again:

"Eric…?"

Eric raised his head and could not believe his eyes, "Alan…?"

Ronald, who had been watching the whole time from an unknown spot, was lucky enough to witness this miracle in real time. It was a moment when all he had in his mind was…

_Holy crap._

XXXXX

2011.4.29, 08:48pm, London, Grell Sutcliff's Flat.

The smell of roses was still in the air, but all the bubbles have vanished.

Grell lied weakly in William's arms. Neither spoke.

_Alan is dead? _Grell thought._ He didn't do anything wrong. Why him? It's not fair… Now that Alan's dead, what about Eric?_

William gravely suggested, as if he could hear Grell's thoughts, "Eric Slingby is going to do something stupid."

"Eh?" Grell sat up and stared at William in astonishment, "You mean suicide?"

"After all, he's good at acting like a fool. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have been screwed in the first place."

"Do you hate him, Will?"

"It doesn't matter what I think about him. If I'm right, the next call from Ronald Knox would be to inform us of Eric Slingby's death."

"Will, please don't…"His sentence was cut off by his ringing phone.

"See? It's Ronald Knox again." William handed the phone to Grell, "Answer him and you'll know that I'm right."

William was right. It was the second call in such a short period of time. There was no way this could be good news.

"Hello?" Grell answered nervously.

"Ah, Spears-senpai?"

"Nope, it's me…"

Ronald's voice was still shaking but it was mixed with incomprehensible enthusiasm, "Oh, Sutcliff-senpai… I-I have big news for you! Please don't hang up before I finish, okay? You must let me finish! Must!"

"Well, you need to get started first…" Grell impatiently turned on the hands-free mode, "Speak. We're both listening."

Ronald continued almost breathlessly, "Oh remember I just told you a moment ago that Alan-senpai was dead? Right? But now I'm taking that back! Believe it or not, no, even I couldn't believe it, but I did see it with my very eyes… Let me tell you, just a while ago, Alan-senpai came back to life!"

"That's impossible…" muttered William.

"That's exactly what I was thinking! I mean, it was totally unreasonable, unscientific, and illogical and…his heart stopped! But he woke up _just like that_, right after Eric-senpai kissed him!"

"What did Eric do to him?!" Grell shouted to the phone.

"It ain't no lie, senpai. Eric-senpai just pecked his face and then Alan-senpai woke up! The doctors have turned all the monitors back on now and his heart rate and BP are all normal! Isn't it a miracle, Sutcliff-senpai?"

"You sure you saw _everything_, Ronald Knox?" William asked.

"Of course I did, Spears-senpai! I swear I didn't even blink when that scene occurred! I am telling you the truth! That's exactly how Alan-senpai came back to life!"

"I was not questioning your eyesight, Ronald Knox, but is it really medically possible?"

"Will!" Grell interrupted, "Please don't spoil the fairytale! This might just be the miracle of the kiss of true love❤!"

"Not in front of me. This is not some cheesy romantic story. If a kiss can bring a dead man back to life, then my lips should make a woman out of you."

"You are so stubborn, Will. Alan is alive! What else do you need to convince you?"

"It just doesn't make any sense. Do you understand?"

Grell hastily wrapped her arms around William's shoulder and tried to calm him down, "Okay, okay… I know it's hard for you to take it in. But we should be happy that Alan and Eric are both safe now, right?"

"They are alive alright. But I'm certain that Alan Humphries did_ not_ come back to life because of Eric Slingby's kiss. Honestly…"

"Fine, fine… Whatever you say, Will."

"_You_ may believe in this groundless theory all you want, but I'll prove to you that it is ridiculous." William then picked up the phone and ordered, "Ronald Knox, I don't care if you are on Mars, but I'm giving you a maximum of 24 hours to return to London."

"No way!"

"I don't joke. Also, get me Alan Humphries's complete medical history. I will prove that this so-called miracle is nothing but the result of comprehensible science." He then hung up.

Grell rested his head between his palms, looking rather disappointed, "Will, he hasn't even finished talking yet. Why hang up so soon?"

"Never mind. There was nothing to talk about anymore."

"Now that Alan is okay, what about Eric?"

"Who said Alan Humphries is okay? He's just not dead _yet_. He was probably never dead anyway. I'll prove that you are wrong. As for Eric Slingby…" William rose from the bathtub, "He is no longer my employee. It would be inappropriate for me to help him. Not to mention I have no such intention…"

"But you do care about them. Do you, Will?"

"You are misinterpreting my words…" William reached for the towel before turning around to find Grell, still in the water, staring at him like a sad puppy. William suddenly realized something, "Grell, that metaphor just came right out of my mouth. I wasn't thinking. I didn't mean it."

_The metaphor?_ Grell knew exactly what he was talking about. _If a kiss can bring a dead man back to life, then my lips should make a woman out of you. _"Will," Grell put on _her_ glasses, "you do mind that I'm not a _real_ woman, don't you?"

"Like I've just said, I didn't mean it… I'm sorry."

"Oh but it came so naturally out of your mouth, it seemed as if you have always believed in it." Grell put her head underwater, not caring about her glasses, and came back up after a few seconds, "Tell me, Will, do you wish that I were a _real_ woman?" Her red hair was neatly pressed on one shoulder. And her eyes, those sweet yet melancholic pupils made her look like a storm-trampled red lotus.

William signed as he lowered his body to look at her right in the eye, "What are you doing? Trying to drown yourself?"

_Oh, how could he sound so cold, as if he doesn't give a damn about me at all…_

Grell felt her veins swollen with lust.

William reached out to caress Grell's face, "You are an idiot, Grell Sutcliff. Since when did I care about those things? Although I must admit I sometimes refer to you as _that thing_ rather than using any specific pronoun… But it's not important, Grell. You don't have to be a woman, or a man, or anything you don't want to be. You are just you, and that's all that matters. I honestly wouldn't care for anyone else the way I do for you, and it has nothing to with what I want you to be. _You_ get to decide who you want to be, and I will respect that." Then, he lifted Grell's chin to press a deep kiss on her lips.

Stoicism ran deep in this man's marrow, but it did not keep him from surprising his lover with occasional intimacy.

When the kiss broke, Grell could do nothing but lovingly look into William's eyes, "Will…"She was unable to create a coherent sentence. That was when scenes from Prince William's wedding began playing in her mind – _Hold on! _That _William is not _my_ William! Oh but that's not the problem… Stupid! Stupid! Why am I even thinking about such things? But I've always longed for a wedding… Is it appropriate to bring it up now? Hey, wait, don't leave so quickly!_ "Will!" Grell called out when William stopped by the doorway, "Will, I-I…" _Damn, forgot what I wanted to say._

William turned around to see Grell mumbling to herself so he decided to get her out of the tub instead, "Stop talking to yourself. Get out and mop the floor."

"Oh you're bullying me again."

"Hurry up." William tossed a towel to Grell, "Get dressed… Actually, I don't care whether you are dressed or not. Just get up. The place is a wet mess."

Slowly wrapping the towel around herself, Grell walked out of the bathroom to find William staring at his laptop. On the screen was a picture of Prince William's wedding.

Grell immediately fell back to her fantasy… _Could it be that Will knew my wish? I'm not prepared for this… Is he going to purpo-…_ Her thoughts were interrupted by William's voice:

"Grell Sutcliff."

The redhead was dragged back to reality only for a second before sinking back into her wonderland again – _Oh is it coming? Damn, why am I wearing a towel? I-is this appropriate? It's nowhere near a romantic setting! But if Will is ready to ask me to marry him, there's no way that I would say no, right?_

"Grell, can you hear me?"

"Oh Will, aren't you going to-to ask me to…"

"I have no idea what you are talking about." said William as he flipped his laptop to have the screen facing Grell. A picture of the wedding guests in Westminster Abbey was shown on the screen. "Keep your eyes open and take a good look at these people who were present at the royal wedding." William pointed to a blond boy in the middle of the crowd. "See this kid? He's been staring at Ciel Phantomhive throughout the wedding. He's the person we're looking for."

"You mean he's the one behind the explosions?"

"Certainly. I also suspect that he would soon shift his attention to Funtom Corp."

Hearing this, Grell leaned closer to take a better look at the boy's face, "Wait, isn't he the one who just succeed his late father's title…"

"Exactly, he's the new Earl Trancy – Alois Trancy."


	24. Chapter 5 Part VI

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Five

File No. 1799-1889

(VI)

2011.5.2, 06:12pm, London, Trancy Corp., UG parking lot.

Alois Trancy arrived at his vehicle, accompanied by his secretary Hannah Anafeloz.

The stock price of Funtom Corp. has plummeted in the past 24 hours, just what Alois wanted.

"Hannah, has Claude got back to you yet?"

"Not yet, Sir."

Alois glared at her skeptically, "What is he up to? It's been too long since we last heard from him." He then sped up to his car, "Never mind, Hannah, let's go home first."

"Yes, Sir."

Alois noticed something was wrong as soon as he got in the car, "Where's my bluebell air freshener, Hannah?"

"My apologies, Sir. The servants must have removed it. I'll go check in the trunk."

"I told you that it must remain in the car at all times! Do you ever remember anything I said, idiot?"

"I'm terribly sorry…" Hannah lowered her head and walked to the back of the car. She was a sad-looking woman, almost never seen with what you might call a facial expression on her face, as if she was born to silently endure humiliation. "Please stay in the car, Sir. I'll be right back." But just when she was about to open the trunk, she heard a loud "tap" from inside the car.

It was a sign that the vehicle was locked.

Hannah gasped in horror as the roaring engine declared that Alois Trancy was kidnapped in his own car.

"Your Highness!"

Hannah was left behind and could only watch the car disappear from her sight.

It wasn't until then when Alois finally realized that the driver was a complete stranger –

Grell Sutcliff turned around and waved, "Hello…"

"Who the hell are you?!"

Instead of answering the question, Grell only adjusted the rear-view mirror, "You are indeed a beautiful boy, I must say. Too bad you're not my type. Guess we should get to business instead, huh?"

"What do you think you are doing?" Alois reached for his phone but realized that he had handed it to Hannah just a moment ago, "Damn…"

Grell didn't seem to be in any hurry at all, "Earl Trancy, you must be thrilled to see Fumtom Corp. fall."

"Did Ciel Phantomhive send you?"

Grell immediately made a sharp U-turn, as if to retaliate against that horrible guess, "Shame on you for even saying that out loud. Listen up, I'm a_ Grim Reaper_!"

"Gim Reaper?" That name obviously struck a bell, and Alois apparently also knew that they were like real reapers from whom no living thing could hide anything. Yet he refused to surrender, "Do you know who I am? Kidnapping royalty can guarantee decades in prison, you know."

"Tsk, now you are talking…" Grell sped up again, "Let me tell you something, Alois Trancy, no…I mean, Jim Macken."

Alois froze still at the mention of that name.

"An ordinary name, I must say. However, it doesn't matter anymore because compared to my kidnapping charge, your fake identity sounds more like a proper sin. Ever wondered what the Queen might feel when she learned that she was lied to?"

"Ho-how did you know my real name? What do you want?"

Grell gave him a toothy grin, "Glad you asked. I'm actually quite impressed by your plans. First, you blew up our office because you knew we would suspect Ciel Phantomhive before anyone else. Next, you pulled some strings to crash their stock price… To be honest, I couldn't care less about what's going between the two families. I could've ignored you but since you decided to mess with _us_, I'll show you that this is the worst decision you've ever made in your entire life, kiddo!" Her eyes were swollen with anger as she made another sharp turn, throwing Alois onto the door.

"Told you to buckle up…" chuckled Grell, "You are so useless when your servants are not around, aren't you?"

"Shut up! Just tell me what you want! I'll give you anything you demand…"

"Wow, we're not _that_ shallow. It's not like we are asking for the impossible. I just want your ring."

"No way!" Alois held on to the ring inside his fist and shouted, "It's a proof of my identity. I can't hand it to outlaws like you!"

Grell's expression instantly changed as she sneered at the child, revealing her sharp teeth, "No? Fine. Just remember to buy the morning paper tomorrow to find yourself on the front page!"

"Don't!" Alois was desperately trying to get out of this dilemma, "You can't tell the press! I can give you whatever you want, just please, don't ever…"

_BANG!_

The left side mirror of the car blasted into pieces.

Grell quickly turned around to find Hannah Anafeloz chasing the car on a motorcycle.

"Hannah!" Overjoyed that his savior had arrived, Alois stuck his head outside of the window and yelled, "Save me!"

Grell hissed in dismay, "No wonder that woman struck me as a bit peculiar. Turns out, she's not background decoration after all."

_BANG!_

The right side mirror also shattered.

"She's actually pretty cute, if you ask me… But why such a dangerous career?" Grell made another sharp turn but Hannah followed closely.

By then, Alois had completely left his self-pity behind and ordered, "Hannah, end this redheaded pervert _now_!"

"Wow, how _awkward_…" Grell quickly glanced at the boy while trying to locate Hannah, "She's mad as a murderer… Hey, it's not like I'm gonna do anything to you. I am only seeking justice for my people in a peaceful way."

Then came a loud _BUMP_ before the car lost balance. But before it slid out of control onto the pedestrian walkway, Grell managed to shift the machine back onto its original track.

"You are shooting the tires now? You sure are one tough gal… I guess it's time to show you what I've _really_ got! Now, peasants, _this_ is what you call DRIVING!" Grell stomped onto the accelerator.

The car flew off like a rocket.

Hannah couldn't believe her eyes. She had never witnessed anyone driving a three-wheeled car at such a speed before. As the car went farther and farther from her sight, she had no choice but risk following it at an equally insane speed. Even if she couldn't reach the car, she still wouldn't let it go out of her sight again. "Wait for me…" She muttered to herself.

Unfortunately, impulse is the devil.

When Grell made another unexpectedl turn and drifted away at high speed, Hannah failed to react fast enough to catch up and hit a pole instead– the immediate damage was beyond repair.

_Damn…_ She audibly swallowed, "Please be safe…"

XXXXX

2011.5.2, 06:49pm, London, Back Alley of Rolan Cole Further Education School.

The fact was, even if you were a legendary car racer, a car with a blown-up tire would still be too much to handle, especially when it has experienced multiple drifts on the road.

The vehicle died in the dark alley.

Grell kicked the door open and dragged Alois out from the backseat, "Made a decision yet, kiddo?"

"I would not give you my ring! You'll definitely pay for what you've done!"

"Right…" Grell seized Alois by the throat, "Do you really think you can get away unharmed?"

"Even if you managed to escape from Hannah, Claude would still come to save me."

"Tsk, you trust him too much. I'd be forever curious about why all these talented and beautiful men are working under some untamed brats. Back to the topic, do you really think Claude would come to save you?"

"What are you talking about?"

Just when Grell was about to unveil the truth, she sensed an unwelcomed individual slowly approaching: definitely not an ally. She suddenly let go of Alois.

Alois too felt the other person coming near as he shouted a name in relief, "Claude"

Claude Faustus showed himself, cold and silent, like a statue.

"Claude, I'm so glad you are here! Do teach this redhead a…" Alois turned around but Grell was nowhere to be found. "Wait a minute. That freak was here just a moment ago!"

Those golden eyes didn't seem to be interested in what had taken place.

Alois was a bit scared by Claude's lack of response, "Why are you silent, Claude? Why didn't you return my calls?"

"What are you going to do, Your Highness?" asked Claude, "We've not yet brought Ciel Phantomhive to his knees."

"No, forget about Ciel Phantomhive… Claude, you need to help me. You can't let anyone know that I'm not the real Trancy heir."

"My Dear Sir," Claude asked coldly, staring at a devastated Alois, "do you really care more about your name than our epic plan to destroy Ciel Phantomhive?"

"What are you talking about, Claude? I am Earl Trancy and will always be Earl Trancy! I can't just give up everything that I have tried so hard to gain… Claude, will you silence them for me?"

Claude did not answer, he just stared at Alois.

"Claude…" Alois's voice was trembling, just like his heart, "You are freaking me out…" He wrapped his arms around the taller man, "Do speak to me, Claude. I'm begging you…"

Claude put his hands on Alois's shoulders and slightly lowered himself before asking, "Are you begging me now, Your Highness?"

"What else can I do, Claude? You know I've always trusted you… You are the only one who could save me from this mess…"

For a moment, Claude's expression seemed to have softened a bit. He reached out to cup Alois's heated face between his palms and muttered, "Giving me your trust without asking for anything in return… You are really…" He suddenly withdrew himself to fetch a letter and put it in Alois' hands.

Alois gasped, "Thi-this is your…resignation letter?"

"That is correct. Two hours ago, Ciel Phantomhive's PA Sebastian Michaelis has been sacked. His bank account was suspended as well. Yet his seat was too important to be left unoccupied…"

Truth tear Alois open like a knife on his heart, "Claude, so this is why you tried so hard to convince me to sink Funtom Corp.! You did it so you can get your dream job, am I right?"

"It's too late for you to realize that." Claude knocked Alois unconscious before murmuring, "Peasants like you are not worth my attention. However," He took off Alois's ring and put it in his pocket, "your cheap little secrets are still of considerable value."

Then came a voice that was completely strange to him, "Oh, so _this_ is what it is all about!"

Claude raised his head to find Grell sitting on the rooftop of a nearby house:

"I was wondering why this kid would hate the Phantomhives so much that he would carry out such vengeance. Turns out _you_ are the real mastermind."

Claude adjusted his glasses and asked, "Will you reveal the whole story, Reaper?"

When Claude looked at her, Grell couldn't help but admit that his face reminded her of William. His merciless eyes, rigid glasses, emotionless face… If Claude decided to insult her like a true stone-hearted bastard, her heart might as well skip a beat for him, just once. However, since he only remained where he was and talked to her with the same boring look on his face. Grell was hardly amused. "Reveal?" She swayed her legs, hitting her heels against the rusty pipe. "No intention in doing such a thing at all. I was going to make the kid confess to me but since you are the man we are looking for… Well, things are getting interesting now."

"Are you going to stop me from taking Sebastian Michaelis' job?"

Grell shrugged and began playing with her hair, "I am _not _going to tell you what our next step is. But I must confess, you've done an exceptional job in screwing with that guy."

_That guy?_ "You mean Sebastian Michaelis? By the way, I heard that the mysterious bankruptcy case was solved by the two of you. So I assume you are his ally in a certain way?"

Grell snickered, "Ally? No way… The excitement wears off every time he creeps closer. Why use such a cheesy name?" She jumped down from the roof and exclaimed, "_Love_ is all about fighting till DEATH!"

XXXXX

2011.5.2, 07:35pm, London, Birdcage Walk.

Sebastian lost everything overnight.

It was a grim day for Funtom Corp., and how Ciel informed him of his suspension with just one quick phone call only made it worse. Nothing more was said between them. He didn't even get to ask why.

He could not imagine his young master making such an arbitrary decision when there were so many crises waiting to be solved. It didn't make any sense to him. Ciel would never do such a thing.

Sebastian knew exactly who was behind this: Claude Faustus.

Without a doubt, that cunning man would be the new master of Office No.384, which once belonged to him, and he will serve Earl Phantomhive the way Sebastian used to…

"Absolutely disgusting." Sebastian could not even bear the thought that another man would sit in his seat, do his job and take his salary… "Unforgivable, nauseating. Give me back my young master…"

Going down Birdcage Walk like an aimless soul, Sebastian was drowned in sorrow.

Almost by instinct, the man felt a familiar figure approaching, "I seriously hoped that Claude would be my one and only problem at the moment. I guess I had forgotten about you, Grim Reapers."

A mower cackled, breaking the peace of the dark, dark lane.

Sebastian alertly reached for his gun.

But the threatening noise suddenly went off-key.

"What the hell? Give me a break…"Ronald grumbled as he revealed himself dragging a smoking lawnmower behind him, "I'm done with old machines…"

Sebastian pointed his gun at the young man, "Good to see you again."

"Yeah, right…" Ronald squinted at him, "In case you've forgotten who I am, I'm Ronald Knox from Grim Reaper Garden Tools Limited."

Sebastian answered coldly, "Don't worry. I know exactly who you are. I'm guessing you've identified the mastermind behind the explosion that destroyed your headquarters. And I suppose the man you are looking for is the one who will take my job from tomorrow on… The name is Claude Faustus, am I right?"

"You're exactly right." The chilling blades of a clipper flickered before Sebastian's eyes. "You are out, Sebastian Michaelis."

Sebastian turned to find William standing right behind him.

"I apologize for the trouble I caused you two for coming here to meet me."

William didn't seem to want to withdraw his clipper at all, "Save the useless drabbles. Why aren't you going to Claude Faustus for vengeance?"

"Very funny. Do you really think I'd let him get away with this? I have yet come up with a plan."

"Refrain from acting like a victim." William adjusted his glasses, "I don't believe that _you_'ve never thought of swallowing your master alive."

"For god's sake, my loyalty to my master is as clear as the skies…"

"I have no interest in your retort." William withdrew his pole and continued, "Claude Faustus has been working under Alois Trancy for quite a long time. I wonder why he would covet your position."

Still fixing his mower, Ronald interrupted, "Maybe he's also one of those pedophiles yearning for Earl Phantomhive…"

William was quick to shut him up and continued talking to Sebastian, "The arson was a challenge letter from him. Then, he managed to turn the press against the earl after he was late for the Prince's wedding. Finally, he manipulated the stock prices… Everything was done to make Ciel Phantomhive distance himself from you, so Claude could slip between the two of you. Am I correct?"

Sebastian couldn't stop shaking his head, "No, my young master would not lose faith in me… He informed me of my suspension through telephone, which I think is the most unusual. He would talk to me face to face when it comes to such a critical decision."

"Well, on the one hand, your blind trust strikes me as nothing but absurd; on the other hand, I'm more than certain that you are working for the Phantomhive family for reasons you dare not tell."

Sebastian feigned a grin, "We just don't speak the same language, I guess."

William frowned, "I'm not here to communicate with you in the first place. I'm just here to tell you that Claude Faustus blew up our headquarters, and we will not let him off. Due to the fact that you are also after him, I should warn you to stay out of the whole thing. We will punish that man in our own way, and you are not allowed to intrude."

Sebastian chuckled, "He took everything away from me. There is no way I am letting someone else punish him… I will deal with him myself, and you should be the one to stay out of this."

There seemed to be no room left for negotiation. William was well aware of that so violence seemed to be the only solution – "It's your choice to stand in our way. I have no other reason to hold back anymore." Upon finishing, he shot his clipper towards Sebastian's throat.

Sebastian dodged and pulled the trigger – but the bullet didn't hit William.

Ronald, who was at the final stage of repairing his mower, was rather distracted by the fact that they started fighting without a warning. "What the hell, I thought we have a common enemy or something…" He muttered.

"Honestly, if Grell Sutcliff had bought me a new phone, I wouldn't have to come here in person!"

"So it's his fault again? Or _hers_?" joked Sebastian, "Now you know my pain."

"I will discuss no more about her with you."

"Fine… I guess it's _her_ after all."

The two continued to move back and forth amongst all the gunshot and clipping, but neither managed to hurt the other.

After one last check at the mower, Ronald was finally ready to return to the battlefield. He pulled the switch and was greeted with the usual energetic hums, "How sweet." He hastily wiped away the smudge on his face, "Since it's the boss' order, I might as well give him a hand. Otherwise I would be working overtime!" He pushed his mower and dashed toward the center of the road, "WATCH OUT!"

The lawnmower stormed in like an unchained hound, and both William and Sebastian swiftly backed away.

_BANG!_

The mower ran straight across the road and crashed into a tree.

_Oops…_

Having reevaluated the situation, Sebastian decided that lingering with two Reapers would suit him ill, so he quickly took a few steps backward.

"What do you think you're doing, Ronald Knox?" William scolded.

Ronald lowered his head like a sad puppy, "Okay, my bad… Sorry, I thought that would be kinda fun."

"Don't you dare find excuses for your stupid action! To accurately assess any situation in a timely manner is the most important quality of a reaper. Are your glasses only decoration?"

William would forever regret giving his biggest weakness away to a careful listener.

_BANG!_

A shot was fired from behind. William quickly jumped aside to safety, only to find that it was an empty shot.

Sebastian was gone, and so were William's glasses

Ronald dragged his mower and chased after him before realizing that William remained where he was, so he turned around to say, "Hey, boss, he's gone!"

_My glasses are gone…_

It was a strange déjà vu moment when William returned to his most vulnerable state as he aimlessly searched for his glasses on the ground.

Realizing that it was impossible to get Sebastian by now, Ronald didn't bother getting anxious, but he decided to ask one more question, just to be safe, "You sure this is okay? I mean, he's _really_ gone."

To his surprise, William rose from the ground and pointed forward, "How can you possibly neglect the importance of glasses? You are definitely getting a pay cut!"

The only problem was that he was pointing to a tree instead of Ronald.

Having luckily witnessed this priceless moment, Ronald scratched his head and sighed, "I really don't know what to say…"

"Alas, why don't you leave the talking to the crimson warrior!?"

Before Ronald managed to turn around and check who that was, he was hit by his own mower and fell to his knees.

"Already forgotten our company rules, young'un? Plus, that was not how you talk to your seniors!"

Ronald quickly got back to his feet and snatched his mower back from Grell, "I thought you'd show up, Sutcliff-senpai."

Grell completely ignored him and walked straight up to William. She picked up his rectangular frames from the ground, "Will, your glasses are here." Just then, an evil idea erupted in her brain. O what a lovely trip down memory lane! William is blind without his glasses, which means this would be one of the very few chances when she got to sneak her way to his lips… Even when they have come this far, it was still impossible for Grell to not want to steal a kiss. Just when she was about to hand the glasses back to William, she suddenly leaned forward and whispered to William's lips, "Will, do give me a passionate French kiss under this ever-so-romantic night sk-"

But in the split of a second the glasses were taken from her hand and went back to where they belonged, "Thank you very much and please…" William muttered as he stood up, "not here."

Flustered but slightly annoyed, Grell stood up with her arms folded, still unwilling to leave William's side.

"You are late. Where have you been?" William asked.

"Me? Well, the car broke down so I had to walk here."

"Idiot, there is a thing called a taxi."

The redhead leaned closer to William and wrapped her arms around his waist, "Well, the place where the car died is not far from here anyway, so I decided to walk. I'm feeling very frugal today, Will."

"I guess that's why you never bothered to get me a new phone."

"C'mon, Will, will you ever shut up about that stupid phone?! I worked so hard today! I not only managed to kidnap Alois Trancy, but also met with Claude Faustus… He reminds me of you in many ways, to be honest."

"I'm not interested."

Unfortunately, William's disinterest has never put her off, "Well, I assume your moodiness is the direct result of me not being around you all day, Will…"

That was when William turned to crush their lips together.

_Honestly, this is the last thing I want to do in public. But if this is what it takes to make you stop talking for a moment…_

Ronald silently prayed that he'd never be haunted by what he had witnessed this evening..

When William broke the kiss, Grell's cheeks were hot like a boiling pan. She has become quite accustomed to William's display of affection but _that _was still a bit too much for her to handle. It came out of nowhere, after all.

Slightly relieved, William said, "That's all for the night. Time to go, Ronald Knox."

"Roger!" Ronald has been waiting for this moment the whole evening. But before he ran off, he asked, "I'm rather confused, Boss. Who are we really after, Sebastian or Claude?"

"That's a stupid question. I say _both_." Then, William took Grell's hand and walked on.

It only took a few seconds before Grell wrapped herself around William's arm.

Instead of shaking her off, William only continued walking like nothing had happened.

"So I guess you guys are…" Ronald paused mid-sentence, struggling to find the right word to describe the newly found relationship between his seniors.

"If you do not wish to return home in my car, Ronald Knox, you are welcome to take a taxi."

"Sorry! I'll shut up and drive!"


	25. Chapter 5 Part VII

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Five

File No. 1799-1889

(VII)

2011.5.3, 12:41pm, London, Trancy Manor.

Sebastian stood on a nearby hill as he gazed across the enormous Trancy Manor below. Tightly gripped in his hand was the morning paper:

"Fall of Trancy, Rise of Phantomhive

… The Trancy scandal cast an unprecedented shadow onto British monarchy. Nevertheless, for some individuals, it was more than just good news. Since the hiring of former Trancy Trust Chief Executive, Claude Faustus, Funtom Corp. has quickly come back to life from its devastating downfall just the previous week. This undoubtedly brought new life to the Phantomhive family, which is still under fierce criticism for their behavior during Prince William's wedding…Claude Faustus, now Earl Phantomhive's new PA, gave a press release on behalf of the Earl yesterday, saying, 'Earl Phantomhive is deeply sorry that Mr. Michaelis has made the decision to leave his post. However, Funtom Corp. respects every employee's decision and despite ' departure, he still firmly believes that Funtom Corp. has a bright future ahead.'"

_No, my young master would never say something like this._

It was simply too much for Sebastian.

_The letter must be a fraud… My young master would never trust a man like him._

"I am the person he trusts the most…"

He can't wait any longer. He must take back what belonged to him right from Claude Faustus' hands.

Now, his young master was inspecting the properties of the Trancy household with that bastard. Ever since his suspension, Sebastian has never managed to see Ciel in person. This was the perfect chance.

"Young master, I want you to tell me everything face to face."

Right before he made his way down the hill, he heard the sound of a shutter…

"Ah❤, what a feast to the eye…"

Sebastian alertly turned around to find a certain redhead hiding behind the bushes, holding a bright red camera.

"Aww, look at you, Sebby, heartbroken and lost. I'm glad I let Claude go, otherwise there's no way I can capture this priceless moment!"

Another photo was taken.

"Hmm…what's wrong with the focus? Why is it…"

A shadow darkened her sight.

Grell quickly looked up, "What's wrong, Sebby?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Me? Can't you see I'm trying to…"

Sebastian took out his gun.

Grell immediately put the camera away and stood up, "Let me explain!"

"I'm so out of reasons to trust you."

"Don't say that, Sebby." Grell leaned closer, "After all, we've known each other for quite some time…"

Sebastian backed up in disgust and said coldly, "Speak as quickly as possible. I've got work to do."

"Fine, fine…" Grell folded her arms and answered, "The fact is, I am here to teach Claude a lesson. Just like you! What a coincidence!"

Sebastian stared at her rather skeptically, "No way. I will take him down by myself. You Reapers should stay away."

"Why are you so stubborn? You don't even have to put on that face to convince me that you want to kick his ass. I mean, it's not like I am going to stop because you told me to. I just want to leave _my_ footprint on his ass as well. Plus, we didn't suffer any less than you did. If you are not holding back, there's no reason for us to give up, either."

For once, Sebastian agreed with Grell. If he could make good use of this unlikely ally, things might actually come handier. That was when he spotted the car Grell parked down the hill.

"Are you going to the manor to find Claude, ? Mind bring me along?"

Grell's eyebrows twitched nervously, "Are you sure?"

"Sure. It's going to take ages for me to walk there. They'd probably be gone by the time I arrived. What good would that do?"

"Tsk, you sure know how to make the most unreasonable request convincing. I think my heart is racing for you❤…"

"So are you driving me there or not?" Patience wearing thin, Sebastian grew more worried that Ciel and Claude would leave the manor at any moment.

Just then, they heard Claude shouting something from the inside of the manor. They couldn't catch what he said. But his voice echoed in the hills. Birds chirped in response to the ridiculous noise.

Murderous rage burned in Sebastian's eyes as he seized Grell by her ribbon and produced a most horrifying smile, "Mind give me a ride, Sutcliff?"

Grell's heart was beating faster and faster as she quickly pushed Sebastian away, "That is _not_ how you treat a lady. Plus, fooling around with you is not my task of the day."

"Just let me get in your car."

"I never said you couldn't. Just let me do whatever I want when we get there, okay? Otherwise Will is going to be _so_ mad… But maybe I want to keep him that way." She smirked.

XXXXX

2011.5.3, 12:56pm, London, William T. Spears's study.

It was his most private place – his personal workshop.

Unknown devices scattered across the room. Notes and memos spread all over the table.

Right now, the tap on Grell's ribbon has been turned on, and William could hear every single word she said. Grell was right. He _was_ mad. Well, Grell was indeed a very expressive actress, but maybe_ too_ expressive. Although he knew better than anyone that Grell was not serious about Sebastian, eavesdropping on her flirty conversation with another man was still more than just irritating. William could feel his heart sinking, in a weird way. In fact, he was more familiar with this feeling than anything else. After all, he had long felt uncomfortable when Grell hit on other men… Or to put it this way, William could never grow accustomed to that side of Grell, unless the man she was flirting with was himself.

_Honestly, she's only acting… I shouldn't get so agitated about it._ He tried hard to fight the urge to unplug his earphone.

Actually, it was not the only thing that bothered him that day.

On the wall before him were all the CT, PET scans and MRI images of Alan Humphries' heart. There were more coming through the fax machine. But even after examining Alan's heart 360 degrees, his miraculous recovery remained a mystery.

"There must be a way…"

He hadn't slept for days trying to figure this out.

Grell told him not to waste any more time on this, but William refused to accept any solution that involved fantasies.

_Kiss of True Love? Honestly…_

William was more than motivated to find a logical answer if that meant putting off Grell's silly ideas.

Even if he still hadn't got a clue, he persisted.

However, Alan's heart was already looked at from the inside out. Every possibility had been thought of. Moreover, he did all the necessary tests in the hospital. If the doctors had no idea, how could _he_ have any when all he had were only printed materials?

_No, there must be an answer. Did I really try everything? Maybe…_

_There was one test that Alan missed… Or to put it this way, the one test that he never managed to complete– the angiogram._

William snatched his phone and dialed Eric's number.

"Hello? Is that you, William?"

"Tell Alan Humphries's doctors that he needs another angiogram."

"Wait, why…? Didn't Alan's heart stop last time he did it?"

"Because his heart stopped, the test was called off halfway through. That's why you can't explain why he woke up!"

"Are you serious, Boss? He's _really _stable now. Isn't this a bit risky…"

"If you don't find out the cause behind his recovery, his heart might stop again. Now which one sounds more risky to you?" William paused before adding, "And, don't call me 'Boss'. We don't have that sort of relationship anymore."

"Sorry…"

"Honestly, don't apologize! I don't need your apology! If you want Alan Humphries to have a full recovery, you should do as I said! Tell the hospital to do another angiogram and then tell me the results!"

William stopped the call before Eric could answer.

_Damn.._

Why did he even bother helping Eric and Alan? Did he really _just_ want to kill Grell's fantasies?

He hadn't forgiven Eric, he would never forgive him. Now that Alan was stable again, Funtom Corp. might soon arrest Eric… No, he should really get his hands off the matter. Eric deserved it.

"Even if he deserved it, I still wouldn't let Funtom Corp. smear mud on our name."

_But Eric is no longer a Reaper._

"He was a Reaper, and he will still be one for the rest of his life. He signed up for this. He can't leave now."

William sighed and picked up the phone again before dialing Ronald's number, "Ronald Knox, report your position."

"On my way to the airport."

"Where to?"

"Orlando, Florida!"

"Vacation at Disney World?"

"Bingo!"

"Honestly, you need to grow up. Cancel your flight. I've got a mission for you."

"No way…" Ronald protested in dismay, "You already called me back once, Boss! You can't just order me about like this!"

"After this one more task, you can do anything you want. Even if you want to visit all the Disneylands in the world, I wouldn't say a word. This is really important."

Ronald had, after all, promised to be an obedient coolie, "Fine, what is it?"

"Fly to Glasgow, now."


	26. Chapter 5 Part VIII

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Five

File No. 1799-1889

(VIII)

2011.5.3, 01:23pm, Londom, Trancy Manor.

Grell's car was stopped at the gate by three security guards who looked exactly the same.

"They won't let us in, Sebby…" Grell groaned.

"You literally just kidnapped Alois Trancy in broad daylight the day before. How could these three brats stop you?"

"You've got such a sweet mouth, Sebby. Not that I'm complaining…" Grell stomped on the accelerator and the red vehicle burst through the iron fence, into the garden and crashed into a thick wall of hedges.

Grell squinted through the hole on the green wall, "So this is the infamous Trancy hedge maze…"

"How very corrupt."

"Says the guy who lives in an equally, if not more, luxurious manor with a thirteen-year-old."

Unwilling to give further comments, Sebastian decided to ignore her and got out of the car.

As soon as he stepped into the garden, he found Claude standing on the balcony, smiling down at him.

"Here for vengeance, aren't you?"

"Where's my young master?"

"It's too late, Sebastian Michaelis. Your master has abandoned you."

"Liar! My young master wouldn't suspend me over a phone call! Claude, your evil plans will never succeed because nobody knows better about him than the man standing in front of you!"

Claude snickered, "You really think so? Why not let Earl Phantomhive tell you everything himself?" That was when Ciel appeared next to Claude.

Sebastian's phone started to ring. It was Ciel calling from above.

He immediately answered, "Young Master!"

"Sebastian, I will now tell you everything word by word. Before I finish, you are not allowed to interrupt. Have I made myself clear?"

Sebastian was ready to unconditionally follow all of Ciel's orders. "Please speak on, Young Master."

"Good." Ciel continued, "Sebastian, the suspension was indeed my decision. I know it's unusual for me to inform you of such a vital matter through a mere telephone call, but I only did it to make it easier for you to process. I never thought this would trigger an investigation into Trancy Corp. Moreover, I didn't expect that they would checkmate ahead of you. This is ridiculous. Originally, we each held 49.95% of the company stock, but I've always known that you wanted to become the biggest shareholder of the company. Once you were suspended, the board of directors took over your share. It was clear that this was the only way to recover my long-lost power. You must think they were Claude's puppets. But it is not true. Everything was my plan. Therefore hiring that man was also my call. The board of directors and their decision don't matter at all. The only solution left here is that you get out of this place quickly. Claude has taken over your properties and promised to sell me 0.05% of your share, so that I can have 50% and become the biggest shareholder of Funtom Cooperation. You dug your own grave, Sebastian. Stop badgering me and don't even think about turning the table. After all, we've worked together for such a long time. I would hate to see you in misery. Promise me, leave here now and we shall never see each other again."

Ciel was so calm and certain throughout the call that everyone would be convinced that he meant every word he said.

Claude stood next to Ciel, grinning as he listened.

But why would Ciel be so cruel to Sebastian?

Yet for Sebastian,_ and_ Grell, who was actively tapping Sebastian's phone while being unknowingly tapped by William, it was a completely different speech:

"Sebastian, the suspension was indeed my decision… But I only did it to make it easier for… an investigation into Trancy Corp. …I didn't expect that they would checkmate ahead of you… Originally, we each held 49.95% of the company stock, but… once you were suspended, the board of directors… took over your share. It was clear that… they were Claude's puppets… Therefore hiring that man was also… their decision… The only solution left here is… you… promised to sell me 0.05% of your share, so that I can have 50% and become the biggest shareholder of Funtom Cooperation…turning the table… Promise me…"

As Ciel spoke, he occasionally covered the phone with a finger, so that only a part of his speech would be delivered to Sebastian. Because Claude was standing right next to Ciel, he only heard the full version.

Still inside the car, Grell gasped in disbelief, "This kid is so much more fearsome than I have ever imagined…"

Sebastian appeared unusually calm as he ended the call, "Yes, my Lord." And he turned around to leave the manor. Although his stocks were controlled by Claude, but how could a PA of Earl Phantomhive be if he couldn't even get back what belonged to him? If he could hack into an online discussion set up by Ronald Knox, he could also easily recover his share through a few clicks on his phone. Seconds later, he turned around again to look at Ciel, "What is your order, Young Master?"

Ciel asked, "What do you mean, Sebastian?"

"I mean, you are the true master of Funtom Cooperation, and you will always be!"

Ciel smiled coldly, "Good. I've been waiting for this moment." Then, he turned to Claude and said, "Claude Faustus, I, the CEO of Funtom Corp., have decided to fire you."

Claude stood still in shock. He obviously never expected a kid so fragile and tiny could play so many tricks behind him. But so what? Even if Ciel was again the biggest shareholder of Funtom Corp., he was nothing more than an easy ransom for Claude.

"Enough! The game is over!" Claude seized Ciel by the throat with one hand and pressed his pistol with the other against the boy's temple, "Sebastian Michaelis, if you take one step closer, I'd…"

"You can't get anything by killing me." Ciel interrupted, "If I were killed, you would be even farther away from my fortune."

"Is that the last straw you prepared for me, Ciel Phantomhive? Of course I won't hurt you. Maybe you should worry about your faithful servant, because he'll be blown to dust once he steps out of this gate!"

"Blown…" Sebastian stared at the entrance – the gate was badly damaged by the car crash earlier but he could clearly see small red lights flashing at the bottom of the two stone pillars that stood on the sides. "A bomb again?" It appeared that once something ran between those pillars, the bomb would go off. "Bastard…"

Grell seemed to have noticed the same thing. But from the look of it, she had better remain a bystander. Claude seemed to be too frustrated to notice her anyway. Therefore she did nothing.

However, that didn't mean she was also ignored by Sebastian.

The moment after he found out about the bomb, Sebastian had rushed back into the car, " …" He pleaded as those crimson eyes of his turned watery as if he was about to cry, beaming an intoxicating ray that reminded Grell of a glass of red wine, "Could you do me a favor?"

Grell blinked, obviously unprepared for a moment like this, "What favor?"

Sebastian placed his hand on Grell's shoulder and asked, "Aren't you always eager to have some intense workout with me in this very narrow space?"

"What? How dare you… I'm offended!" Before Grell had even finished her sentence, she was pushed to the other side of the car with her head banged against the window, "What the hell…"

"No need to be shy, . I trust that this is not your first time anyway…" Suddenly, Sebastian's hand moved to the steering wheel.

"Wait!" Grell noticed his strange move, "What are you doing?"

But Sebastian has already started the vehicle – the red car dashed towards the gate like an unleashed wild horse.

Grell screamed, "No, the bomb would go off!" She tried to reach for the brake but Sebastian forcefully pinned her down again:

"Please trust me!"

Grell shook her head violently, "Not in a million years!"

The car was seconds away from the gate of death…

A silver car stopped outside of the Trancy manor.

It was too late. Even if someone managed to step on the brake, there was no way Grell's car could stop before the bomb went off.

_Boooom!_

After the huge explosion, Grell's red car turned into a burning fireball. The front gate of the manor was in ruins.

Behind the dust and smoke, Sebastian lied on the ground with Grell pressed under him.

It was only right before the moment the car triggered the bomb when Sebastian burst open the door on the other side and threw himself out of the car with Grell in his arms.

The car served as a sacrifice to get rid of the bomb.

"I told you it's going to be intense…" Sebastian coughed.

"Holy crap, you could have told me! I wasn't prepared at all!"

Sebastian smiled faintly, "So how was it? I mean, I think I've done my best."

Grell angrily shoved Sebastian off her body, "Done your best? Don't make me laugh! You ruined my car! What else do you want from me?"

Sebastian smirked and casually patted on the redhead's shoulder, "After all, I saved your life."

The blade of a clipper appeared right below Sebastian's chin, followed by a familiar voice, "Get your filthy hands off her."

Grell quickly rose to her feet, "Will!"

"Idiot, look at the mess you've made!"

"It's not my fault!"

"I'm not here to argue with you." William turned his face to Sebastian, "I don't care how you want to beat up Claude Faustus. Even if you wanted me to stay out of your way, it would be more acceptable than _this_." He eyed the crumbled metal corpse nearby.

Sebastian gasped in surprise, "You mean, as long as I stay away from … I mean, if I stayed away from _her_, you'll no longer intervene?"

"If you could really end him, that is."

Sebastian grinned, "You can count on me."

"We've made a deal." William impatiently ended the conversation by dragging Grell by her hair as he made his way back into the car, "Now, who's the one who convinced me that she can finish both Sebastian Michaelis and Claude Faustus on her own?"

"You have no idea what happened, Will!"

"I have no idea? I saw you lying underneath that vile being… Never mind."

It was not until the two were back inside the car when they finally had the chance to sort things out.

Grell rested her head on the back of the seat, still a bit flustered, "I know you care, Will❤."

"It doesn't matter whether I care or not. You obviously knew that I'd not be pleased with what you did…"

"C'mon, Will, don't be upset… That bastard turned my car into a piece of flaming junk, how could I possibly…" Noticing William's lack of response, Grell moved closer to the driver's seat and bestowed a kiss on her lover's cheek, "I'm sorry, Will."

Still silent, William adjusted his glasses and started the car.

From the way William behaved, Grell somehow foresaw the possible cruel plays waiting for her at home. In fact, she was rather excited about it. But still, the silence was killing her.

"Will," He lightly shook William's shoulder, "talk to me please."

"Buckle up."

Grell buckled up and asked again, "What's next, Will?"

"I don't want to talk about this right now."

"Are we really going to leave Claude to Sebby?"

"No point in not doing so… Although I'd prefer if I didn't have to outsource revenge to keep other men's hands off you."

"So _that's_ why…" Grell moved her hand onto William's leg, "Do you actually want to see them get into a cat fight?" O how she enjoyed seeing William being all possessive and jealous.

_Yes, of course._

"I'm not interested." William put Grell's hand back to where it belonged, "They can do whatever they want."

From then on, no matter how many gunshots were heard from the manor, or how many men had died, it would be none of Grim Reapers' business.

"Honestly, I'd prefer mutual annihilation."

XXXXX

2011.5.3, 05:18pm, London, William T. Spears's apartment.

The afternoon skies were dark and wet.

William switched on the lamp and reached for his glasses.

Grell lied beside him, still blushing from her post-sex glory.

"Will," She clung on the other man and asked, "are you not going to lie in bed with me?"

William gently shook her off, "In a moment."

"What are you waiting for?"

William was a bit irritated so he put a hand on the redhead's shoulder to keep her from squirming, "I'm expecting a call from Glasgow now. Not a good time."

Grell fell back onto the pillow but appeared on William's shoulder again after a few moments.

Instead of shaking her off, William only warned coldly, "In case you have forgotten, you still owe me a phone."

"How mean, Will… Plus, I thought I've told you a million times to not care about Alan and Eric anymore. Why are you still on it?"

"Am I supposed to follow everything you say? You obviously don't do everything _I_ instructed you… More importantly, I have reached a conclusion earlier today. All I need now is a call to confirm that I was right."

"You sure care _so_ much about being right."

"That is not my concern." William turned around and gently bumped his forehead with Grell's, "I only did it to destroy all those silly aerial castles in your mind once and for all."

That gave Grell a nice shiver, "You really mean it, Will?"

"Yes…" Will answered softly.

"Aww, how cold…" Grell couldn't resist crushing her lips onto William's.

William didn't shun from her.

The two fell back onto the bed again.

But this time, it was Grell who paused with a skeptical look on her face, "Will, do you remember promising me that you'd discuss everything with me from now on?"

"Yes. Why ask?"

Grell wrapped her arms around William's neck, "Because you never told me about your new bank account."

"Bank account?"

"Don't play dumb. I know what you've been doing behind my back… You know, I'm going to be upset if you still keep so many things from me, from your secret study to this secret account."

"What do you think the account was for?"

Grell withdrew her arms and began playing with her red locks, "Well, of course I could come up with somecreative guesses, but…"

William abruptly pulled the redhead back into his arms, "Do you really want to know?"

Grell replied, barely breathing, "Yeah, of course…"

William then tossed Grell's clothes onto the bed, "Get dressed now. I've got something to show you."

"What is it?"

"Something you've always wanted."

_Something I've always wanted?!_ The top three answers on the list was bondage, candles and whip. So she asked, "Wouldn't it be better if I were naked?"

William frowned, "Honestly, what were you thinking?"

"Maybe you should just tell me what it is!"

William took his head and said, "Just follow me down to the garage."


	27. Chapter 5 Part IX

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Five

File No. 1799-1889

(IX)

2011.5.3, 05:26pm, London, William T. Spears's garage.

The place was dark and smelled of paint and oil.

William held Grell's chin, "Close your eye."

"But it's already dark in here. What are you going to do, Will?"

"_Not_ what you're thinking. Just close your eye."

Grell did as she was told. Although Will had explicitly told her that it was nothing she had imagined, she still couldn't help quivering from excitement.

"Don't open your eyes..."

Suddenly, all the lights were on.

"Open your eyes now."

Grell lifted her eyelids and gasped, "This is…"

Quietly sitting in front of her was the red sports car she had been dreaming of.

It was only a few days ago when she casually mentioned it and now it was already…

"Will, my darling… You…" Grell threw herself into William's arms, screaming in joy and showered his face with kisses.

"Honestly, calm down."William thought he was mentally prepared for this kind of reaction, but he was still caught off-guard, just like every other time when he was with this creature named Grell Sutcliff. "Don't get carried away…"

"Ho-how did you even know I was looking at this one?"

"How many red cars do you think there could be in one magazine? And how many would come in a style that you would fancy? It was a piece of cake."

But Grell was apparently too thrilled to even listen as she wrapped her arms around William's neck, nearly suffocating him, "Ah, Will, you make me so crazy."

"Don't be. The car would prefer its driver to be mentally stable. Don't waste my efforts."

"Will, I love you so much…"

"Glad to hear that."

Grell shut him up again with a deep, passionate kiss.

William kissed back with equal intensity before he pressed the redhead against the wall.

The kiss lasted for a while longer before Grell broke away, "That's why you opened a secret bank account?"

"That took you a while to find out." William pecked Grell's forehead before continuing, "Given how paranoid you could be, I didn't want to risk spoiling the surprise."

"Ah, Will❤…"Grell pulled William into another tight embrace, "You make me so sickly happy."

That was when William decided to change the subject instead of directly responding to Grell's declaration of love, "Most cars you drove in the past ended up in the junk pile, but this one is extra tough. You wouldn't be able to break it so easily."

Grell blinked at his words before carefully pulling away, "I have an idea, Will." She went into the back of the vehicle and lied down on the leather seats. "How about you break _me_ in here?" She asked suggestively.

William immediately dragged the redhead out of the car, "Enough."

Grell giggled uncontrollably. The way William looked when he was flustered was priceless. "You just don't know how to have fun."

"It's a _new_ car!" William protested, "You know how your nails and, eh, teeth are going to scrape the leather surface once you get all…you know what I mean."

"Oh, c'mon… Is the car already more important than me now?"

"Well, the car cost me money while _you_, Grell Sutcliff, came free of charge." He wanted to bring up his lost phone again but decided to give up because reiteration didn't seem to work too well on Grell anyway.

Grell still wouldn't let William go, "Just lie down with me for a while, darling."

Just then, they heard the telephone ringing from upstairs.

"It's here. I need to go answer the phone."

Grell quickly sat up, "Who is it from?"

William gestured her to follow, "I told you I was expecting a phone call. Not a good time for your shenanigans, Grell." Then he began making his way back into the apartment.

"Ah, cold men are just wonderful❤…"

William picked up the phone, "Speak on."

"Ah, it's Spears-senpai, right?" It was Ronald on the other side, "I'm now in Glasgow! Everything is ready."

"Good. How's Alan Humphries doing?"

"He's fine. Guess what the doctors found out after the angiogram?"

"No time for fun and games, Ronald Knox. Just tell me what the results are."

"Okay, okay… The result is that they found a third ostium in Alan-senpai's heart. Most people only have two, and it was the infection in that extra ostium that made his heart stop and restart… Now everything has been explained. They said he'd be fine after a few easy surgeries."

"Very well." William sensed Grell approaching from behind, "You know what to do next." Then he hung up.

"What happened, Will?"

"Ronald Knox explained everything to me. It was a congenital heart defect that almost cost Alan Humphries his life. But he will be fine. Now you know that he did _not_ revive because of Eric Slingby's kiss. Like I've said, he was never even dead."

Grell stared at William, biting her lower lip rather cynically, "That's why you did it, so you can mock my fantasies?"

William nodded, apparently satisfied with himself, "Yes."

It began raining again.

"Oh, you are such a baby…" Grell pouted as she picked up William's memo.

"Please put it back." warned William, but he didn't really seemed to mind all that much.

Grell mindlessly flipped through his thick notebook and chuckled, "You write down the most useless notes, Will… 'Take care of your glasses', 'Maintain your death scythe', 'Clear your expenses every month'… Do you really have to write these things down?"

"Of course." William snatched his notebook back, "It's just the things I need to keep in mind all the time while working with a morally-deficient person like you."

Grell snickered, "Anyway, now that you don't have to worry about Eric and Alan anymore, why don't you start paying a _little_ bit more attention to me?" She embraced William from behind.

The rain was so heavy that William could barely hear his own thoughts.

Grell buried her face in William's shoulder, "I'm in flames, Will."

"I'm sure the rain can put you out."

"Noooo… There's only one person in this world who could…"

"You probably want to stop moving your hands downward, Grell."

The rain completely overrode the noise in the study.

XXXXX

2011.5.11, 11:52pm, Glasgow, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, ICU Reception Desk.

A blond appeared before the young nurse, who was sorting files on the counter. "Good evening, My Precious."

Alarmed by the intimate greeting, the nurse stood up and asked, "Can I help you, Sir?"

"Are you the only one on-duty tonight? I've been watching you for some time."

The girl nodded, her cheeks slowly heating up.

The boy absent-mindedly picked up a pen from the counter and started spinning it between his fingers, "You must be pretty popular."

The nurse grew more nervous, "I wouldn't say that. But thanks for the compliment, Sir."

"Must be difficult to watch over all these rooms at the same time, right?"

"Not really. Patients on this floor don't walk around that much. All I need to do is to make sure they don't sneak downstairs when I'm not watching." The girl grinned innocently as she sat down again, "It's not like they can jump out of the window or anything."

The blond let out a laugh, "You're funny. Hey, since we are having a nice chat here, I thought I might as well tell you a secret?"

The girl lifted her eyebrows to inspect at the boy's handsome face, "Secret?"

"Sure. But since it's a secret, you probably want to lean closer and listen more carefully."

The nurse, as if spellbound by his lowering voice, moved her face closer, "Is it anything important?

"I'm not sure about that, but since it's a secret, you'll need to forget about it as soon as you hear it, okay?"

The nurse widened her eyes, "I don't understand…"

"You've got only 7 days left to pay off you usurious debt."

The poor girl almost fell onto her knees, "Did they send you here?"

"Why else would I be here at this hour? You thought I was hitting on you or something? Sorry." The blond flipped open a notebook and began making notes on it, "You appear to be quite shocked at the news. I assume you haven't got the money yet. Well, you'd better wisely spend the time you have left and clear your debt."

The girl desperately grabbed him by the arm and implored, "Can't you give me a few more days? Seven days is really too…"

"I'm only here to inform you of how much time you have left." The blond closed his notebook as he replied coldly, "I would not change what's written on the list, whether you begged or not. Nothing could be altered, be it time or name. Just give up already, okay?"

"But I really can't…"

The expression on the young man's face softened a bit, "Relax. I mean, calm down and think carefully. You might eventually come up with a solution."

The nurse covered her face in dismay, "No, I can't… I'll be dead if I can't pay off my debt…"

"Don't worry. I'll be back in 7 days to check up on your properties. If you didn't have the money, I'd know what to do." He turned around after putting his notebook back into his suitcase, "Good bye… Beannachd."

The moment before, he was walking down the dim corridor. The next moment, he opened a window and hopped onto the sill.

The moment before, the frustrated nurse was still staring at her own hands. The next moment, she jumped up from her chair, "What are you doing?!"

"Haven't I made myself clear? It's time for me to leave."

"Who the hell are you?"

"Me?" The blond winked at her, "You might not believe what I'm about to tell you, because you might think I'm lying, but I'm actually a _Grim Reaper_!" He then jumped straight out of the window.

"No!" The nurse screamed in terror and rushed to the sill, only to feel the cold midnight wind blowing the sweat from her face. The boy had disappeared like he was never here.

"Im-impossible…"

Just then, the voice of the head nurse appeared from behind, "What's wrong?"

The nurse turned around to find a mysterious man in black standing behind her supervisor, "I, I was only…"

"This is Mr. Sebastian Michaelis from Funtom Corp." The head nurse introduced. "He's here to pay a visit to Alan Humphries in Room 666. You can show him the way."

The girl quickly cleared her head of the ghostly blond and pretended to look calm, fearing her boss may find out what had just taken place. "Please follow me, Mr. Michaelis."

Sebastian nodded and followed before asking, "Is Mr. Humphries stable at the moment?"

"Certainly. He's been through quite a few surgeries in the past week but he's all set now. He's recovering quite smoothly."

"How nice. What about Mr. Slingby?"

"Him? Oh, he's with Mr. Humphries the whole time without leaving the room. I assume you are an acquaintance of theirs?"

"I wouldn't say so, although it is partially true. Plus, I'm here tonight to bring Eric Slingby to justice." He showed his warrant to the nurse.

It was obviously none of her business, but the nurse had yet recovered from the earlier shock, so as soon as she was shown the warrant, she sped up to Room 666 as if running away from a ghost. "This is Mr. Humphries's room. Please come in."

"Thank you very much." Sebastian opened the door to find…nobody inside.

A sentence was splashed on the wall with offensively red paint: _We've been here._

The siren of an ambulance went off outside, followed by chaos in the stairway.

Sebastian ran to the window and saw an ambulance breaking through the gate and out of the hospital. He could also hear people yelling from below, "Someone stole an ambulance!"

Sebastian could only bitterly smile, "What a night…"

XXXXX

**A/N: Medical case taken from "House M.D." S03E24; Second scene inspired by Ronald Knox's character song "This is not a pick-up line".**


	28. Chapter 5 Part X

W. A. G. E. R.

Chapter Five

File No. 1799-1889

(X)

2011.5.12, 05:14am, Isle of Wright, Culver Down.

A red racing car was parked on the cliff, facing the rising sun.

"What a beautiful sunrise, Will." Grell exclaimed as she swung her arms around William, "Oh just look at that gorgeous fireball coming up."

"I can see it perfectly well due to its size. You don't have to remind me." William held Grell in one arm while resting the other on top of the car, "Honestly, I can't believe you woke me up at 3am for this…" He yawned. "Makes my eyes hurt. I don't even know why you'd bother watching something that happens every single morning with such enthusiasm."

"C'mon, Will. Don't spoil the fun. It's romantic." Grell rest her head on William's shoulder and whispered lovingly, "Especially when I'm with you, Will…"

"Still unnecessary."

Grell ignored his protest by giving him a long, loving kiss.

William didn't push her away. After all, they weren't here_ just_ for the sunrise. He pressed Grell between himself and the car as the kiss dangerously escalated into something more.

The morning sun continued to climb up, dying the sky and the sea with a glittering gold. The car, reflecting the warm light, looked as if it was in flames.

"Mmm, Will…" Grell giggled into their breathy kiss, "Why don't we move back in the car?"

"Honestly," William broke away and adjusted his glasses, "not in the car."

Grell grumbled, "So you want to do it _out here_?"

"I thought we're here for the sunrise. And please don't say that out loud…"

"There's no one here."

William gave her a warning glance, "We can sit back in the car, but nothing else. I don't want to risk fall down the cliff."

"We've jumped off a ship before. What's the big deal?"

"Just forget about it, honestly…" Not wanting to continue the conversation, also a bit flustered, William hastily returned to the driver's seat and switched on the radio.

Grell couldn't help grinning, but soon followed him back in the car. "Not Rap again, Will. It's annoying."

"Why don't you tune in to a random radio station, and we'll listen to whatever it is playing."

"What good music could they possibly be playing at this hour?"

But it was too late, William already switched to another channel.

It was obviously not the time for morning news yet and there was only classical music playing.

Grell muttered, "You are such a block, Will…"

William reached out an arm and said, "Hand me your phone."

"Why?"

"Because I _still_ don't have one."

Grell handed him her phone and started painting her nails.

William went on the web and was immediately drawn to the headline, "Michaelis Vows Lifetime Service for Earl Phantomhive".

He clicked through the link, and the full article read:

"Two weeks since its unprecedented crisis, Funtom Corp. has once again made breaking news. At 3am today, the second biggest stock-holder of the cooperation, also the personal assistant of Earl Phantomhive, Sebastian Michaelis announced through a letter to the public that he will serve Funtom Corp. as long as he is alive, and will never leave his position unless the Earl says so. In the letter, he said, 'Given that Claude Faustus has been arrested and charged, we would like to leave this ordeal behind and move on. As the close companion of Earl Phantomhive, I am not only thrilled that he has recovered his power, but also deeply moved by the indestructible bond between us. I do not wish to see anyone taking advantage of our relationship to hurt the Earl or Funtom Corporation ever again. And I vow to never leave his side.' Although the Earl had not officially responded to the letter, insiders believed that the decision was closely linked to Michaelis's failure to arrest Eric Slingby, who was responsible for the mysterious bankruptcies that occurred earlier this year. The news hopefully will also boost the stock performance of Funtom Corp. Experts believe its effect would soon be clear when the market opens in the morning."

William couldn't help but form a small smile on his face.

Grell noticed his unusual expression and asked, "What are you reading, Will?"

"A joke." He handed the phone back to Grell, "Take a look for yourself."

Grell snatched her phone back skeptically and glanced at the title before gasping in surprise, "Ah!"

"He made it sound like it was only about Claude Faustus. He thinks nobody knows how awkward his position is at the moment."

"What do you mean?"

"The shares he held." William explained, "I've long known that he wanted to take over Funtom Corp. He held an equal amount of the stocks as Ciel Phantomhive before the incident. I said he would kick the boy off the throne anytime he pleased. But he was waiting for his chance, and I bet he thought he was almost there. However, he never expected that Claude Faustus would kidnap his master, which made him so desperate that he sold his own shares to Ciel Phantomhive in order to preserve what he already has. And now he's behind the kid and his hands are tied. I'm glad the report also pointed out that he was too embarrassed to mention Eric Slingby's arrest, or the lack thereof."

Grell let out a long sigh, "I underestimated that child… I never thought he intended to handcuff Sebastian for life."

"True. But he knew exactly what Sebastian Michaelis wanted. Now he's got what _he_ wanted, and his loyal PA is chained. He killed two birds with one stone."

"Now that Ronald has helped Eric and Alan out of England, Sebastian will definitely feel so inept…"

"Yeah." Looking down at the shiny sea surface from the cliff, William murmured, "Ronald Knox can finally have his vacation now."

"Where do you think he will go?"

"Not sure, maybe Florida? But that's not important. He loves his pride as a reaper, but freedom is what matters the most to him."

Grell chuckled, "I guess that's why he never wanted a serious relationship."

"Perhaps. But there's nothing wrong with that."

Grell sunk into her seat, "Well, Eric and Alan have escaped to France… Do you intend to find someone to replace them?"

"They'd have to come back to fix their own mistakes. I won't let anyone else do it for them."

"That's not what I mean." Grell turned to face William, "I was just saying, we are alone in London now, Will."

William rubbed her cheek gently, "What's wrong with that?"

Grell shook her head, "Nothing as long as I'm with you. But do 'Grim Reapers' still exist?"

William didn't answer.

Eric and Alan probably didn't want to return to this lifestyle ever again, and he wasn't very concerned about Ronald. That boy could feed himself as long as he has his laptop.

In the end, William could only shrug, "Does this even matter, Grell Sutcliff?" He leaned forward to press a kiss on Grell's lips, "Everything will be fine as long as the two of us are together."

Blushing like the radiant sun, Grell smiled, "You are right, Will…" She slowly made her way onto William's lap as she spoke, and took off her glasses.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing. I just feel kind of sleepy all of a sudden…"

William muttered, "Honestly, you should have seen this coming when you forced yourself out of bed at 3am." He carefully held the redhead in his arms, "We're not doing this again."

Grell only tugged on William's tie as she chuckled childishly.

The Requiem Mass in D minor by Mozart was on the radio.

A random thought struck William, "I think this tune suits that man perfectly."

"Who?"

"Sebastian Michaelis. It's perfect. Requiem Mass in D minor, verse III, movement VI - Lacrimosa dies illa."

"How melancholic." Grell giggled, "I bet he never saw this coming."

"He dug his own grave. He's one hell of a tragedy…"

"Yep, one hell of a tragedy…"Grell's voice gradually grew weaker as she drifted off to sleep.

The sun has fully arisen.

The inside of the car was much darker after William put the shading board up on the front. Leaning back in his seat, he rested his forehead on one hand, and ran the other through Grell's red locks.

It felt a bit weird to have no one to talk to all of a sudden.

His fingers continued to explore Grell's ever-so-gaudy hair.

_A new day has come._

William glimpsed the beauty in his arms as an itchy feeling began building up inside of him. Itchy but warm.

Can William T. Spears feel embarrassed by his own desires? Why can't he keep his composure whenever he was around Grell Sutcliff? Is it natural? Is it wrong?

_Honestly…_

William carefully brushed away the hair clinging on Grell's face before pressing a tender kiss on her half-open lips.

===The End===

**A/N: And I vow to never write fanfic in English again.**


End file.
